You're WHAT?
by PadfootCrazy
Summary: Life’s almost back to normal for Harry even after everything that happened in his sixth year. He returns to Hogwarts in spite of the war. Unlike the beginning of every year, there are two new teachers, and one of them hides a big secret. What’s that? Read
1. Chapter 1

You're WHAT?

Chapter 1: Goodbye Dursleys!

Harry Potter woke up to the bright sunlight streaming through his window. It took him a whole minute to realise why he felt so miserable and exhausted. Even thinking about Dumbledore's death made Harry's blood boil. He sat down on the foot of his bed. Though he knew in his head that he was dead, he could not help thinking about him. There was so much that he hadn't asked him. His end was abrupt and unfair, thought Harry. He had become seventeen two days ago and Harry was glad that once and for all, he could leave the Dursleys. He was so immersed in his own thoughts, that he did not notice a barn owl coming in. When he finally did notice the owl, he pulled off the letter and opened it.

When he opened the parchment, he saw that it was blank. Was someone playing a joke? He turned the paper and saw five words written in a tiny handwriting. _Use it like the map. _What was going on? Was it referring to the Marauder's Map? Well, he thought, no harm in giving a try. He whipped out his wand, placed it on the paper, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Words appeared on the paper from the tip of his wand. He began reading. __

Dear Harry,  
One of the members of the Order and I are coming to the your house at 10 am tomorrow. Tell your aunt and uncle that you are to stay with us for the rest of the holidays. And remember to wipe the note clean and destroy it immediately.   
Remus Lupin  


Well, he would soon be back to where he belonged. He was going to see Ron and Hermione again. Harry's mood was slightly lifted. He wiped the parchment clean and threw it into his open trunk. The Dursleys would be extremely glad to get rid of me, thought Harry. He went downstairs to breakfast to give them the news.

Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley were already seated. Just as Aunt Petunia passed Harry his grapefruit quarter, (they were still on Dudley's diet) he decided to tell Uncle Vernon. 

"Uncle Vernon?" Harry said tentatively. His uncle said nothing. Harry tried again. His uncle grunted in response. Harry wondered how best to phrase his question. Then he said, "Er – tomorrow a friend of mine will be coming to take me."

"If it's that mad old man with the long beard, you might as well stay here. "Uncle Vernon said bitterly.

"He - he's dead." Harry said quietly.

"Then who is it? If they're planning to-"

"_Nothing_ will happen to your _house._" Harry said.

"I've been waiting for this day for sixteen long years, and finally, good riddance." Uncle Vernon said heartlessly. Aunt Petunia looked shocked at this retort but said nothing, though she continued to look at Harry. He, however, finished his breakfast and went to his room. He began throwing his possessions into his trunk. He would no longer be needing his books but still decided to have them. After that, he double-checked every nook and corner for anything he might have forgotten. The day quickly passed by.

The next day morning, when Harry got up, it was 7:30 am. He dressed quickly and went down. His aunt and uncle were at the breakfast table. He gulped down his breakfast and went upstairs. He did some last minute checking for anything he might have left behind. Hearing the doorbell ring, he went down, his heart pounding.

Harry went to the door and opened it. He saw Lupin along with a pretty red-haired witch who looked not older than Lupin himself. Both of them smiled at him and Harry grinned back, in spite of himself. He noticed that they were both in Muggles' clothes.

"Hello, Harry," they said.

"Hi!" said Harry brightly.

"Harry, this is my cousin, Amanda Rosenay. She will be accompanying you for the rest of your journey. So, where's your trunk?" said Lupin.

"Upstairs," said Harry.

"I'll get it." said Amanda as she went upstairs.

Harry's aunt and uncle were unusually quiet and didn't even protest when Amanda went up. Soon she arrived, Harry's trunk was floating in mid-air.

"Right. I've got to go." Lupin said to Harry. Turning to Amanda, he added in an undertone, "Report to the meeting as soon as you've finished."

"C'mon Harry, we'd better get a move on." said Amanda lightly as Lupin disapparated.

"Yeah, OK." he said to her. Turning back to the Dursleys, Harry said, "Well, bye." Uncle Vernon merely nodded and shut the door behind his back. He began to move his trunk. Meanwhile, Amanda had stuck out her right hand and Harry saw the Knight bus coming to a halt in front of them. Harry noticed with a pang that it was not Stan Shunpike but a new conductor. Before he could start to speak, Amanda said, "Two to Godric's Hollow, please."

He said, "Twelve sickles each."

"Right." Shoving some silver into his hands, she said, "Here's your silver."

When he showed them their seats, Harry felt he could not contain the suspense anymore.

He said, "Er-Mrs.Rosenay, can you tell-"

"Harry, I'd love to answer your questions but this is not the right place." she said.

Harry sank bank in his seat defeated.

Looking at his face, she added, smiling slightly, "Remus told me that you looked exactly like James. I didn't quite register that until now."

"You didn't know my parents, did you?" Harry asked, surprised, as the bus took another huge turn, throwing Harry and Amanda forwards.

"Oh yes, I did." she said and a faraway look came on her face. "I went to Hogwarts with your mum and dad." she said. Then peering through the windowpane she added, "Here we are." Harry glanced through the window and saw a beautiful little town with a signpost near it saying "Godric's Hollow". As Harry got down, His head was swirling with thoughts. What were they doing in Godric's Hollow? Did his parents live here? Had he, Harry, lived here as a baby? Harry scarcely noticed where he went.

They stopped in front of a huge mansion, which looked like a castle. Stepping close to the door, she whispered something, which was evidently a password, because the door sprang open.

"Come in." she said.

When Harry went in he saw a large hall, which reminded him of Hogwarts' Great Hall. The room was furnished with comfortable-looking cushions. The place had an uninhabited air about it, though it was sparkling clean. Portraits adorned the walls. There was a stairway to go upstairs and Harry couldn't just count the number of floors the building had. Unable to contain himself anymore, he asked, "What _is _this place?"

"I've got to hurry, Harry. The meeting must have begun already." she said. Then she called out, "Eliza! Eliza!" A pretty red-haired girl with emerald-green eyes, around Harry's own age came down the stairs. Amanda said, "Eliza, this is Harry Potter. Harry, my daughter Eliza." She smiled at him and Harry nodded. "Eliza, show Harry where he sleeps. I've got to go." she said and hurried inside. "Fine, Mum." she called out and turned to Harry. "Come and I'll show you your room." Harry nodded and followed.

"What's this place?" he asked.

"The new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." she said, matter-of-factly.

"The _new _headquarters?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Yes."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Offer

"Why not Grimmauld Place?" Harry asked.

"After Dumbledore's death, the members of the Order elected McGonagall as the new Secret Keeper. Dumbledore's Fidelius charm couldn't be removed, so they had to settle for a new Headquarters," Eliza explained as they went up the stairs.

" i McGonagall? /i " Harry asked.

"That's right," Eliza replied in an offhand voice.

"But, doesn't magic die out when the caster dies?" Harry questioned, remembering how Dumbledore's Freezing Charm had died out after his death.

"Usually it does, but Dumbledore's case is different. He took some precautions to see to that his charm doesn't die out," Eliza elaborated.

"Then why couldn't they use Grimmauld Place?" he argued. Now they had reached the third-floor corridor. Eliza looked at him quizzically and said, "Fond of the place, are you?"

"Not really, but-" he began but she cut in.

"If the Order stays at Grimmauld Place, new members cannot get access to the Headquarters, and there are quite a few new members," she said. They went right up to the last room on that corridor and Eliza pushed open the door, without even bothering to knock.

"This is your room," Eliza announced as they entered a large bedroom. She lit the candles, and as light flooded the place, Harry saw that the room had comfortable three beds, each looking fit for a king.

"You take this bed," said Eliza, pointing at the middle one.

"Which school did you go to?" Harry inquired.

"Beauxbatons, Seventh Year. But I'm not sure Mum will send me back. What with the war and all…" she said, and as her voice trailed off, Harry began thinking about it. He, for one, was sure that he would not go back to Hogwarts, even if it re-opened. But Hogwarts had been like a second home to him. Even the mere idea of not returning, made him feel as though he would be missing one of his closest friends.

"What time is it? I think the Weasleys should be here by now," she said, interrupting his thoughts. Even as she spoke, they could hear noises downstairs implying that the meeting was over. Harry was filled with happiness for he would be seeing Ron and Hermione again.

"Shall we go down?" she asked. He nodded in response and said, "Let's go."

Sure enough, when Harry went downstairs, Amanda, Tonks, Mrs. Weasley and Lupin were conversing in low voices. Ron and Hermione were standing nearby and when Harry came, both of them smiled at him. Tonks and Lupin were seated in one of the cushions and seemed to be deep in conversation with each other. Eliza tried to eavesdrop, but Tonks cleared her throat and they all turned to look at Harry and Eliza.

"Hello, Harry, we'd better get going, c'mon, Remus," Tonks said impatiently and they Disapparated, before Harry could even respond to her.

"I guess I need to go, too," Mrs. Weasley said.

"You're straining too much, Molly. It's just a wedding," Amanda scolded.

"Not at all. Well, bye." With that, she Disapparated.

"Now, listen here, all of you," Amanda commanded in a crisp voice, "None of you can go wandering off out of the house." Looking pointedly at Harry, she continued, "Maximum protection has been added to the house and you can enter only using a password. So try no tricks for your own good. Understand?" The four of them nodded. "Ron, you can share Harry's room and Hermione can stay with Eliza. And, Eliza, come with me," she said, and then left the room.

Eliza raised her eyebrows but followed leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione together.

"How was your stay with the Muggles, Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"Oh, fine," he said off-handedly. Unable to control himself, he asked, looking at Ron, "Ron, why didn't Ginny come?"

"I don't know Harry, but whenever we talk about you, she acts weird. Did you do something?" he demanded in a very Hermione-like tone.

"I broke up with her," Harry said quietly.

"What for?" Hermione asked.

"If she's close to me, then that would put her in danger," he said.

"Even if she's not your girlfriend, she's vulnerable, Harry," she reasoned.

"Yeah, but I thought she accepted my decision that day," he said.

"Maybe, she was in shock that she couldn't respond," said Ron. Silence fell as each one was immersed in their own thoughts. Try as he might, Harry could not stop thinking about her. He finally decided to push her to the back of his mind. He had more pressing matters to worry about, anyway. Amanda walked in, lost in thought. Harry made up his mind to ask her.

Clearing his throat, he asked, "Mrs. Rosenay, did my parents live near here?"

"Yes," she said softly and then added, seeing the look on his face, "I know what you're thinking, Harry. But you can't go anywhere out of the house."

"Why?" he demanded.

"For your own safety," she said matter-of-factly.

"Voldemort's not going to jump at me, now, is he?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Do you claim to know what he's going to do?" she asked in a polite tone but Harry realized she had won. He said nothing but decided to use his Invisibility Cloak at night. As though on cue, Amanda said, "In case you're thinking about using your cloak, you can't get out of here without the password."

"Are you a Legilimens?" he asked her, looking astonished.

"Yes, and an Occlumens. Minerva feels you need to become one, too," she stated.

"What for?" he asked.

"To block your mind, of course," she said, smiling slightly.

"But if Voldemort is practicing Occlumency against me, then-"

"I never said you had to use it on him, Harry. It's very useful when you become an Auror," she said.

"Yeah..." said Harry, lost in thought.

"Well, do you want something to eat?" she asked.

"No, tha-" he started, but was interrupted by a loud pop. Lupin and Tonks apparated looking worn out. Tonks sported a cut lip and was limping slightly. Lupin had a bandage around his arm but presented a better picture than her.

"What happened?" Amanda asked, fearfully, motioning them to sit down on the cushions.

"The Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade. Lucky we were there," Lupin said, smiling ruefully. He checked his arm to see if it was still bleeding and then wrapped it again.

"We actually lost no one but two of the Death Eaters are dead," Tonks said, examining herself in the glass window.

"Was there an attack now?" Harry asked, alarmed.

Yeah, and Amanda, Greyback will be safe in Azkaban, by now," Tonks said with a small smile.

"Azkaban? That's great news!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Still, old Scrimgeour isn't making matters easy. Any decent Minister would be glad at the way we're progressing in the war. But it's not good enough for him," Lupin declared.

"Yeah, he insists that we take Veritaserum everyday," Tonks said, rolling her eyes. "Amanda, did you hear, because of the change in the war situation, the Ministry has decided to re-open Hogwarts and Minerva's been named as the Headmistress by the Governors."

"Really? That's-"

Pop!

McGonagall Apparated, looking worried.

"Minerva, what's wrong?" Amanda asked, looking concerned.

"I need to ask you a favour, Amanda," she said. Amanda said nothing but raised her eyebrows. McGonagall continued, misinterpreting Amanda's surprise for assent.

"Will you return to Hogwarts to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

A/N: Eliza doesn't have a French accent because she was brought up in England, and due to Amanda's love for England, they converse in British English, hence, never lost her British accent.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Hogwarts or No?

"M-me?" she asked, frowning.

"Yes, Amanda, that is, if you have no objections," McGonagall said, anxiously.

"I've no objections, but I doubt I'd have the time…" she replied, uncertainly. She turned to Lupin and raised an eyebrow. He just gave her a reassuring nod and a smile. This seemed to instil confidence in her, for she agreed, though a bit reluctantly.

"Well, fine then," she answered, but not with much certainty in her voice.

"Mum, what about my school?" Eliza asked with a tired expression on her face.

"I'll think about it. And, remember i don't leave the house. /i I'll come back soon," she promised.

"How i soon /i is SOON?" Eliza pouted but her mother had disapparated before that.

"Ron, Hermione, why don't you go upstairs and have a look at your rooms?" Tonks suggested.

"Call us if you need something," Lupin offered.

"Good idea," said Ron and they began to climb the stairs. After reaching the third-floor landing, Ron and Harry went into their room while Hermione and Eliza entered theirs. As Eliza lit the candles in her room, Hermione was appalled to see that it was the messiest room she had ever entered. Books, parchment, ink and quills lay everywhere, on the floor, in the table and on the bed.

Eliza, sensing Hermione's displeasure, apologized, "Sorry about that, I can be a i bit /i messy sometimes."

" i A bit? /i " Hermione whispered.

"Well, I know that's an understatement. I'll clear them up, just give me a minute," she said. With one sweeping motion of her wand, she cleared up the room. Books arranged themselves in a pile; the rolls of parchment lay in a stack and with a cleaning charm, the room looked better.

"Happy, now?" Eliza asked. When she received no reply, she turned around to see Hermione engrossed in a book. After realizing that Eliza was looking at her, she exclaimed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to read without your permission,"

"No problem," Eliza replied, grinning.

"This book's rare. Where did you get it from?"Hermione asked, eyes large with interest.

"Oh, that's from Mum's Library. She's got a great collection of books," she said carelessly. Then she suggested, "Shall we go downstairs?"

"Okay, I'll just go call Harry and Ron," she said.

"Fine," she said and went downstairs. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed. When they reached the first-floor landing, they could clearly hear Lupin and Tonks' voices.

"Actually, Remus, it's a good thing Hogwarts might be re-opened. I mean imagine if the school was closed! It would only add panic and confusion to the state we are in, now," Tonks was saying.

"It is a good thing, all right. But, d'you honestly think parents would be willing to send their children to Hogwarts even if the school is opened? Even Amanda has second thoughts on sending Eliza to Beauxbatons, even though her school is in France," Lupin contradicted.

"That's only because she's overprotective of Eliza," Tonks argued.

Lupin smiled slightly and said, "That's how all parents feel,"

"I don't care what she feels. I i am /i going to return to Beauxbatons this year," Eliza declared angrily as she plopped on a cushion next to Lupin.

"That's between your mother and yourself," Lupin said and motioned them to sit down on the couches. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat opposite Lupin. Eliza began, slowly, in a syrupy tone, faking a sweet smile, "Uncle Remus, why don't you -"

"If you want me to convince your Mum, sorry," Lupin said sternly, seeing right through her. Eliza made a face but did not speak after that.

"What about you lot?" Tonks asked, addressing Harry, Ron and Hermione. They looked at each other but none of them took up the initiative to answer.

"Well?" Lupin prompted.

"I'm not going back," Harry said firmly.

"WHAT?" Lupin asked, shocked.

"I said I'm not going back," Harry said quietly but firmly.

"Us, too," Ron and Hermione added.

"I'm surprised at you lot. Hermione, i you /i of all people, say you don't want to go back?" Tonks said with surprise. Hermione said nothing, but looked determined.

"Really, do you think you can take on Voldemort and his Horcruxes without even finishing your studies?" Lupin asked.

"How d'you know about the Horcruxes?" Harry asked, shocked.

"If you've forgotten, we're members of the Order, Harry," Tonks said, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, but Dumbledore told me that no one knew about it," Harry asked.

"We know about it because of Dumbledore's Pensieve at Hogwarts," Lupin explained.

"Dumbledore's Pensieve?" Ron asked.

"Yes, before his death, Dumbledore told us that in case he dies, we had to make use of his Pensieve to know about a few things," Lupin elaborated.

"Exactly how many know about the Horcruxes?" Harry asked, indignant that they had been let in on the secret, too.

"Only important members of the Order, Harry. And, all of them i trustworthy, /i I can assure you," Lupin replied.

"Well, thank God we do know about it. Anyway, do you really think you can take on Voldemort without even knowing half the spells he's going to fire on you?" Tonks asked.

"He's already done it in Fourth Year," Hermione said, coming to Harry's defence.

"That was a miraculous escape, Hermione. You can't always expect that when duelling with Voldemort," Tonks said.

"Honestly, Harry, you're going to need all the help you can take. This is i Voldemort /i we're talking about," Lupin advised.

"But returning to Hogwarts isn't going to help," Ron persisted.

"Of course, it will. Amanda will be your new Defence Against Dark Arts teacher. And, Harry, you need to learn Occlumency from her. It's very useful," Tonks said.

"Really, Harry, you are going to need all the help you can take. And one good place to look for help is Hogwarts," Lupin declared.

"But Hogwarts without Dumbledore isn't going to be the same…" Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Of course it won't be the same. But Minerva isn't a bad Head either," Tonks said.

"Well…" Harry said, lost in thought.

"Really, Harry, anybody who has your best interests at heart would ask you to return to Hogwarts and we are just two of them," Lupin said, pleadingly.

"Think of how Dumbledore would've felt if you didn't want to return to Hogwarts. D'you think it'll make him happy?" Tonks asked, with raised eyebrows.

"If you really had respect for Dumbledore, then you would return to Hogwarts, at least to please him," Lupin asserted.

Harry considered it for a while. i If you had respect for Dumbledore, you would return to Hogwarts. /i Those words of Lupin's played again and again in his head. i He /i definitely had respect for Dumbledore, so he i should /i be returning to Hogwarts, atleast to please him. Harry saw the steely resolve in Professor Lupin's eyes. There was no way he could justify not going to Hogwarts. So, Harry let out a deep breath and said, though half-heartedly, "Fine, I'll go to Hogwarts. But on one condition, I need to go look for the Horcruxes as well, and Ron and Hermione would be with me,"

"That can be arranged for, granted Molly agrees," Tonks assured. Harry sighed knowing he had to have an argument with Mrs.Weasley as well.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and then said, "We will, too,"

"That's it. Your mother is going to be pleased with you, Ron," Lupin said.

Eliza, who had kept quiet for so long, spoke up. "Uncle Remus, you're so mean. When I specifically asked you if you could talk to mom, you turned me down. But you actually persuaded them to return to school. How fair is that?" Eliza asked angrily.

"Why don't you speak to your mother about this?" Tonks asked.

"As if I haven't! Every time I even try to start with this topic, she shuns me off," Eliza answered. She cast an angry glance at Lupin and pouted.

"Well, I'll try," Lupin promised, looking at her face,

"Thanks a million, Uncle Remus. I knew you would help," Eliza said with a grin, her expression changing at the speed of light.

"Of course," Tonks said.

Pop!

Hestia Jones, whom Harry remembered as a part of the Advance Guard that took him to Grimmauld Place, apparated looking flustered. "Remus, Kingsley found out where Snape had been hiding for so long."

A/N: Please Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Order Meets

"What?" Tonks exclaimed.

"Severus Snape?" Eliza asked, staring suspiciously at Hestia. She chewed on her lower lip, as though she was doing some quick thinking.

Lupin, Harry, Ron, Hermione stood up, looking at her, at a loss for words. 

"Yes. But before they could capture him; he Disapparated. I've never seen Kingsley so mad; but the most interesting thing was the way Snape behaved. Kingsley said the man insisted that: _Dumbledore wanted to die._ What rubbish!" Hestia said in a rush.

"Where did they find Snape?" Harry asked quietly. Hatred and anger rose inside him like a huge monster which had been hibernating for a long time. He could almost picture Snape leering at him with that superior smirk, as though challenging him for war. Harry wanted revenge.

"Near his house, of course," Hestia answered non-committally.

Lupin, who hadn't said a word through-out the exchange, looked at Harry with raised eyebrows. Harry could see the unspoken suspicion in his eyes.

"Listen, Harry," Lupin began, "As much as you want to go after Severus, you _can't._ You don't even know Severus as well as I do. Just leave the matter to us, we'll take care of it," he said in a placating tone that suggested rather frivolously that Harry was behaving like an annoying two-year-old.

"I know Snape better than you do," Harry shouted, his voice rising shrilly with every syllable. Ron, Hermione stared at him, but Eliza cast him a venomous glance. Harry was now shaking with mad fury, "You weren't the one who had to see him kill Dumbledore. None of you were there to save him. He was pleading. But none of you even _bothered_ to find him-"

"Don't you _dare_ accuse him," Eliza interrupted furiously. Her face remained calm, though she was breathing hard.

There was a shocked silence that ensued. Ron was staring at her, open-mouthed, as though she was an alien from outer space. Hermione's face was passive. Harry opened his mouth, but the words didn't come out.

Finally, he found his voice and asked her crossly, "Who are _you_ to tell me that anyway?"

If Eliza was offended by Harry, she didn't show it. Her face was as calm as ever, which only added fuel to Harry's fire. "He's my uncle, in case you haven't noticed," she replied frostily.

"Now, Eliza, don't go arguing like that. We already have enough to deal with and the last thing we want is a fight," Lupin stated plainly.

"If he says another word-" she began, but Lupin quickly cut her off.

"I've known Harry for longer than you have," he said calmly, as though this could clear things up. Eliza just grimaced, but said nothing after that; although she continued to glare at Harry, reproachfully. This did nothing to improve Harry's mood. He was tired of everyone treating him like a child. Hadn't they already lost Sirius because Harry was constantly kept in the dark? Hadn't they realised that they ought to at least keep him informed as well to avoid any more deaths? And who was Eliza to lecture him? He'd only met her only today.

"Shouldn't we inform Minerva, Remus?" Tonks' voice cut sharply into Harry's thoughts.

"Kingsley already did," Hestia answered.

In the next few minutes, there was a lot of popping and cracking as almost fifty people Apparated into the hall. Still, the room looked as though it could fit even twice that number because of its vast dimensions. Most of them were known faces to Harry like Moody, Amanda and Sturgis Podmore. As he scanned the room, his eyes fell upon Viktor Krum, who was deep in conversation with Hagrid and a grubby little wizard with a pointed nose and pale complexion. Hagrid was shaking his head in disapproval on something that they were discussing. Harry's thoughts returned to Krum. Of all people who could've joined the Order, Harry couldn't imagine Krum being there. Wasn't he busy with his Quidditch? He turned around to see if Ron or Hermione had noticed him.

Ron had obviously seen Krum and catching Harry's eyes; he raised his eyebrows questioningly. Hermione on the other hand, had not noticed; she was inattentively twirling a knot of her hair between her fingers, apparently lost in thought. Harry nudged her towards Krum and seemingly woke her up from her previous trance; she looked at Harry and nodded, without a flicker of surprise.

"Viktor's been a member of the Order since last summer," she elaborated in a tone usually used with five-year-olds.

"How did _you_ know that?" Ron raised the question quickly. He then narrowed his eyebrows at her and continued in a suspicious tone, "You _haven't_ been in contact with him, have you?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Hermione asked coolly.

Harry, sensing trouble, quickly changed the topic. "Ron, where are your parents?" he asked, looking around.

"Dunno, maybe they went to St. Mungo's to see Bill," he said vaguely, still glaring at Krum.

"Why is Bill at St. Mungo's?" Hermione asked, looking concerned.

"Because it is the full moon in another two days or so," Ron answered in the same monotonous tone.

Suddenly the muttering within the room was silenced and Harry saw the reason for this; Professor McGonagall had entered the room. Her face looked strained, just as it had been that morning. Worry lines etched her face and her lips were pursed together. The Order members around her silenced as though she was their teacher and they, her students. Her eyes fell upon Harry, Ron and Hermione, and a flicker of doubt or annoyance, Harry couldn't decide which, flashed across her face; but she finally said, "You might join us Potter, Weasley, Miss Granger," she paused and then added, "and Miss Rosenay, as well."

Harry gave Ron and Hermione an amazed look; he had not expected this; especially from McGonagall. However, he proceeded to follow the others. They entered a room which looked like a Conference Hall. There was a podium in front, complete with a luxurious-looking chair and table. Harry guessed that it was for Professor McGonagall. Sure enough when she arrived, she made her way straight to the top. She waved her wand, a piece of parchment and quill appeared out of thin air.

_The room could seat at least a few hundreds,_ thought Harry. It seemed as though people had been assigned their places, because each one of them made their way to a particular seat without any hustle or bustle. Harry could see Tonks and Lupin took a seat together; Hagrid, Amanda and Krum were right behind them. Moody, Sturgis, Hestia and Kingsley were seated behind Hagrid.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Eliza made their way to one of the last rows, and looked up expectantly for the meeting to begin. McGonagall cleared her throat. Harry looked at the quill on the table, which rose to a ready position; as she spoke, the quill began to move on the parchment.

"We're gathered here to discuss the matter of Severus Snape, who's been in hiding since Dumbledore's death," her voice faltered. Clearly, Dumbledore's death had left a deep impact on her. She regained her voice and continued, "We believed him to be on our side, but after Dumbledore's death, _doubts_ were created in some of our minds. We're lucky, if I might add that we have some first-hand information on the subject in the form of Kingsley." She gestured for him to rise and continued, "If you would elaborate on what happened,"

Kingsley stood up, cleared his throat, and started rather mysteriously, "Well, I'd gone to do you-know-what. I'd covered almost all the places except for Spinners End. I didn't think I would find anything there, but I just thought I'd check it out. Just when I had decided that nothing useful could be found, Snape Apparated. I was shocked to see him in broad daylight and all, what with the whole of Britain looking for him, but he was not the least bothered. He greeted me with a sombre 'hello', as though we'd gathered there for a tea-party. I tried to stun him, but he blocked my spell and gave me this cock-and-bull story. He told me that he didn't want to kill Dumbledore, but he was _forced_ to kill. He was really on our side, but had no choice. This is clearly a part of some plan which he's cooked up to fool us, no doubt about that," he finished crossly.

"Thank you, Kingsley," McGonagall said. Her eyebrows were knitted together and she grimaced. "Was the Malfoy boy with him?"

"No, come to think of it; it was just Snape," Kingsley answered looking puzzled.

"Fine, what are your opinions on this?" she addressed the rest of the crowd.

"Listen Minerva," Moody said rather rudely, "we all know Snape was and is a Death Eater. Albus believed in second chances and see what happened to the poor bloke. He made a fatal mistake, Minerva. You need to learn from his mistakes." 

McGonagall said nothing, but appeared to be in deep thought while the quill on her table continued to scribble away.

Hagrid then gave them his opinion, "Professor McGonagall, yer makin' a fool of yerself if yeh believe Dumbledore made a mistake. He's the cleverest wizard tha' ever lived. He's not sommat to make mistakes, is he? Tha's all I have ter say," he finished rather abruptly.

Amanda then voiced her opinion, "Minerva, I sent him a notice of the Order meeting. If he _really_ is on our side, he would have turned up, right?"

"You didn't give him the password, did you?" Moody asked disbelievingly.

"Not the password, Mad-Eye; only the time and place," Amanda said lightly.

Moody just shook his head and muttered something in which Amanda could catch phrases like 'totally irresponsible' and 'constant vigilance'.

"Now, we have other matters to deal with," McGonagall ended their conversation. Looking up at Harry, Ron and Hermione, she narrowed her eyes. "You three are returning to Hogwarts, I presume?"

"Yes Professor, provided Ron and Hermione are allowed to go along with me to look for the Horcruxes," Harry replied coolly.

"_You_ can go Mr Potter, but as for Mr Weasley and Miss Granger, you'll have to ask their parents for permission, I'm afraid," she answered in an equally cool tone.

"Minerva, how can you allow them to wander off on their own? They're not old enough," Moody objected. He rolled his eyes at McGonagall, as though this would be that last thing anyone in their right mind would do.

"How about having an Order member accompany them? We could take turns at it…" Tonks looked at Moody hesitantly, expecting him to object.

"Yes, that should be fine," McGonagall agreed before Moody could say anything.

Though Moody wasn't able to say anything, it was evident from his face that he didn't quite approve of the idea. Fortunately, he was outnumbered.

"Anything else we need to discuss?" she asked, addressing the crowd.

"There was an attack in Hogsmeade today. No casualties, as far as we know. Remus and I managed to put Fenrir Greyback and a few other Death Eaters are in Azkaban, though," Tonks said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Um, Nymphadora, according to the latest news, Greyback and the others are out of Azkaban," Sturgis Podmore corrected her.

"Outrageous! They broke out in a single day!" Tonks said incredulously.

"Unfortunately," McGonagall muttered. "Perhaps, we will need to talk to the Minister about this. We will need new guards for Azkaban, other than wizards,"

"Anything else?" she asked them once more. Seeing that no one responded, "Fine, meeting dismissed," she announced in a tone that reminded Harry of her way of dismissing Transfiguration classes.

All the Order members dispersed rather noiselessly. Harry was left to his own thoughts. Now that he'd got permission to look for the Horcruxes, his thoughts turned to the next pressing question: Where to start looking for the Horcruxes? It seemed as though he was looking for the proverbial pin in the hay-stack. Could he come out successful, or rather alive from this ordeal? Even if he _did_ manage to destroy the Horcruxes; there was still Voldemort himself, along with his whole army of Giants and Inferi, not to mention the Dementors. As if all this was not enough, Azkaban wasn't safe anymore, either. Then there was also Snape. Harry sighed. It was a tall order indeed; he didn't even know where to begin. He was beginning to feel lost…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Visit to the Graves (Word Count- 2595)

"Harry, let's go," Hermione said as she prodded him at the back. Harry looked around and saw that the Order members had dispersed; now, the room was quite empty.

"Are you feeling all right, Harry?" she asked; her eyebrows knitted in concern.

"You look a bit peaky, mate," Ron stated anxiously.

"No, I'm fine," Harry said, more to himself than to them.

"Harry, you're worried about the Horcruxes, right?" Hermione enquired. It felt as if she was reading his mind.

"No, well- yes," he admitted the truth.

"Listen to me, Harry," she started in an authoritative voice. "I know you're worried, but looking for the Horcruxes is a _very_ difficult task, no doubt, where success is nothing short of a miracle-"

"Thanks Hermione, you just made him feel better, Hermione," Ron said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Please, don't start again," Harry said, exasperatedly, just as Hermione had opened her mouth to shoot back a furious retort.

"Erm- excuse me, Uncle Remus called for supper," said a voice.

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned around and saw Eliza by the door-way. Forgetting his animosity towards her, Harry said, "Thanks, we'll come in a minute." He signalled Ron and Hermione to follow him.

They went up the stairs and reached the first floor corridor. Eliza pushed open the door and the aroma of the delicious supper wafted up to them. Harry, now felt doubly-hungry, he realised that he hadn't eaten, except for the small portion of grapefruit he had had that morning, and that had been at the Dursleys. He marvelled at the fact that he had only left the Dursleys this morning. It felt as though it had been ages ago.

The dining room was fairly large; the table was covered with a sparkling white table cloth. Around the table were Lupin, Tonks and Amanda, deep in conversation. It appeared as though Amanda and Tonks were trying to persuade Lupin to do something, but he simply kept shaking his head, vigorously. When Harry, Ron, Hermione and Eliza arrived, they looked up and ended their conversation. 

"Here are your plates," said Amanda. She waved her wand and four silver plates appeared out of thin air. "Help yourselves," she added as they grabbed a plate each, and began to stack them up. The meal served almost all of Harry's favourites; he wasted no time to wait for the others. After piling their plates, they began to gobble up their food, famished. The food was almost equivalent to Mrs Weasley's cooking, and surely, that was saying something. As they ate, Tonks resumed their lost conversation.

"Remus, you're being impossible," Tonks said, rolling her eyes at him.

"I'd second that, Nymphadora," Amanda said as Tonks grimaced on being addressed by her first name. "Oops, I forgot, you don't like being called by your first name, right?" she asked kindly. Tonks just nodded.

"Why, may I ask?" Eliza asked Tonks.

"That's how you'd feel if _your_ fool of a mother named you-" Tonks began hotly.

"Um, actually, I asked why you said Uncle Remus was being impossible," Eliza said timidly. Realisation hit Tonks and she smiled at her.

"Oh, he says he's not staying here, anymore," Tonks said, casting a sour glance towards Lupin.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Uncle Remus, you _promised_ you'd stay the whole summer, and now you run off, barely three days after my birthday?"

"Anyway, that's beside the point. This is my final say: Remus, you're not about to step out of this place, except for duty and be warned; I will not hesitate to use the Full Body-Bind curse on you, if I have to," Amanda said returning to her usual strict self.

"You remind me of my Mum," Lupin joked, playfully.

"She's _supposed_ to, seeing as she's your cousin, Remus," Tonks reminded him. Amanda shifted in her seat a bit and grinned at Lupin, who returned it only weakly.

"OK, fine. I'll stay here," Lupin conceded defeat. The rest of the meal continued in silence. When the main course was finished, Amanda waved her wand again and a plateful of treacle tart appeared. After everybody had had their second helpings, (the plate kept refilling itself) Harry was too sleepy to discuss anything, and his legs felt like lead. Yawning, Ron, Hermione and Eliza along with Harry got up from the table.

"OK, good night, all of you. Sleep well," Amanda said in a cheery voice, as they nodded. Tonks stifled a yawn behind her mouth and Amanda quickly added, "Want to stay for the night, Nymphadora?"

"No thanks, I'm going home," she said. "Night, then." She was gone in a whirl of robes.

"Fine, go to bed, all of you," Amanda said in an authoritative voice. "Night, Remus," she called to him. He simply nodded in response.

"Night, Mum," Eliza said as they began to climbed the stairs. When they reached the second-floor corridor, Eliza and Hermione bid goodnight to Harry and Ron and proceeded to their room.

Though Ron, Hermione and Eliza fell asleep as soon as their heads touched their soft pillows, sleep didn't come quickly to Harry. He just lay on his bed, tossing and turning, but his mind refused to settle. Snape had given the Order the slip … and Draco Malfoy had not been with him...and he, Harry would return to Hogwarts; a Hogwarts without Dumbledore… Sighing, he tried to block out the thoughts, but the more he tried, the more it became impossible. His thoughts now turned to Godric's Hollow. His parents had lived there, yet he wasn't allowed to even step out of this house. _How fair is that?_ thought Harry angrily. He was frustrated, he had wished to visit them straight away, the moment he had stepped into Godric's Hollow, but now, he was trapped here, unless…

Harry suddenly stood up as though following orders. He pulled out his wand from inside his pocket. He whispered 'Lumos' into the darkness, and his wand tip was instantly alight. He began to rummage into his trunk, and finally found out what he was looking for. He pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and draped it around himself. He walked noiselessly to the door, careful not to wake Ron up, who was snoring gently. He pulled the knob and the door sprang open at once. The corridor was dark, in spite of his wand light and Harry had difficulty finding his way to the stairs without knocking anything down. He got down the stairs and hurried up the sitting room, and then proceeded to the front room; to the door. The great oak door gleamed in his wand light. Hastily, he reached out to the knob. The moment he touched it, a screeching sound filled the air, and Harry was vaguely reminded of the merpeople's voices above the ground. He tried to withdraw his hand from the knob, but his hand seemed stuck to it. He removed his Cloak, with his free hand, so the others would be able to see him.

"Who's there? Declare yourself! We're armed, I warn you," Lupin said, trying hard to keep his voice steady.

At the same time, Amanda instructed, probably to Ron, Hermione and Eliza, "Go back to bed, you lot."

"It's me, Harry," he replied, as he heard voices arguing.

"Harry?" Amanda repeated, the doubt evident in her voice.

"It should be him. His bed was empty when I woke up," Ron said anxiously.

Amanda and Lupin came out of the sitting room, relief evident over their faces. However, they became stern almost immediately. Amanda gave him a hard piercing look not unlike the one Dumbledore had given him on various occasions.

"Harry, didn't I already warn you about this?" Amanda sighed, as she waved her wand once, and Harry felt his hand unstuck from the door. Gratefully, he removed his hand from the knob.

"Where were you planning to go, anyway?" Lupin asked him.

"I wanted to visit my parents' graves," Harry said, looking at the floor.

"We already planned on that, Harry. To tell you the truth, we had decided that you could -" her voice faltered, "- you could visit their graves, tomorrow," 

"You could have told me that, though," Harry said, in a slightly accusing voice.

"It isn't necessary for us to tell you _everything_, you know," Amanda said, flaring up immediately.

"It's OK. Now, go to bed, Harry, and _stay there_," Lupin said, breaking up their argument. He went without saying another word. He entered the room to see a dim light from a nearby candle illuminating Ron's anxious face.

"Whatever happened?" he asked fearfully.

"I- I just went out-" 

"You went wandering in the night?" Ron asked incredulously.

"You sound like Hermione," he accused. Ron just shook his head.

"Anyway, where did you go?" he asked.

"I – I wanted to visit my parents' graves," Harry said in a small voice. Admitting it to Ron seemed tougher than talking to Lupin and Amanda.

'Oh' was all that Ron could manage. It seemed as though he didn't want to carry on with this, and Harry was only too glad to accept that. Nothing more was said, as they fell into a deep slumber.

"Harry, Ron, wake up."

Harry sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He could make out Hermione standing by his bed; she continued to try and wake Ron. When finally both of them had awoken, Hermione said, "Lupin wants you both ready for breakfast in another ten minutes." She left the room, as Harry realised with a jolt that he was going to see his parents' graves today. He didn't want to think about what to expect, or how he would feel being there.

"We'd better get a move on," Ron said. Harry nodded and ten minutes later, they headed down for breakfast in the first floor. Tonks, Lupin, Amanda, Hermione and Eliza were already seated around the table. Tonks smiled at them, whereas Lupin's face was impassive. Amanda saw them entering and waved her wand carelessly. Just like the previous night, two more plates appeared out of thin air. She waved her wand again, and dishes appeared out of nowhere. She motioned them to start eating, while touching nothing herself. Harry tried to chew his eggs, but it seemed impossible; he gave up in five minutes. Amanda had to nudge Lupin, who had not given one glance at his breakfast, to eat. He just nodded vaguely and twirled his fork between his fingers. By the end of the meal, Harry noticed that neither Amanda nor Lupin had eaten more than a few spoonfuls. They seemed to be waiting for the others to finish.

After that indifferent breakfast, Harry felt butterflies in his stomach. Elation as well as anguish flooded him as he looked at Lupin, to see what they were going to do next.

"C'mon then," Amanda said, in a voice unlike her usual strict tone. Harry and the others followed her to the sitting room and then to the oak door. She bent down near the handle and whispered something; similar to the one Harry had seen her doing when he had arrived there. The door sprang open. They stepped out and Harry looked around. The place seemed completely deserted, with just bare ground stretching for miles in sight. There was not even a single soul in sight, and Harry felt shivers down his spine, though the morning sun was warm. They began to walk for what seemed like hours to Harry, though the actual journey was only for fifteen minutes. Amanda suddenly stopped, and Harry walked into her. "It's around the corner-" Indicated the place with her hand, "-over there," she said, sounding as though she had a head cold.

"Well, why don't we stay here, while you, Remus and Harry go?" Tonks suggested.

"Oh, fine then," Amanda said. Harry, Remus and Amanda continued their walk. As they turned around the corner, Harry's heart skipped a beat. As they walked, Harry could make out two headstones close to each other. Finally they reached the place. Harry felt immobilised, as a whole wave of emotions swept over him: pain, anger, elation, resentment… He tried to say something; his mouth felt strangely caught in his throat, and Lupin and Amanda said nothing, but just stood there. Harry could feel tears escape his eyes; those that he had tried desperately to hold back. He knelt down, by their tomb and looked at his father's headstone.

__

In the loving memory of James Howard Potter  
August 12, 1960 - October 31, 1981

And then he turned towards his mother's.

__

In the loving memory of Lily Evans Potter  
March 3, 1961 – October 31, 1981

Harry ran his hand across the length of the tomb, and though it was not so cold that Harry felt goose bumps on the back of his neck; but he also felt a certain warmth radiate from the tombstone; something he was sure only he could feel. Harry did not even know if it was real, but in his mind's eye, he could see vivid images of his parents and his childhood as he stared at the tomb, and he let his thoughts wander. What if he had died, along with his parents? There would be no Voldemort to fight against. There would be no Ministry to bribe him. There would be just nothing. Just he, his parents, Sirius, and maybe even Dumbledore. Harry allowed the blissful feeling flow through himself. Quite suddenly, he felt a hand close upon his shoulders. He turned around and saw Amanda; she looked at him with a crease on her forehead. He tried to smile, but it seemed impossible, it made him look like he was grimacing. She just gave him a look that plainly said, "You'll be fine,"

"Shall we leave, Harry?" Lupin asked hoarsely.

Harry just nodded. With one last look at his parents' tomb, he began to walk back. They turned around the corner, and he saw Hermione pacing the ground. Tonks and Ron just sat nearby in chairs, (probably conjured by her). When they saw Harry, they got up and Tonks lazily vanished the chairs. No one said a word, though Harry saw Tonks slip an arm around Lupin's, trying to steady him. They finally reached the Order Headquarters. He, along with Ron, Hermione and Eliza sat down on the cushions inside the Main Hall. The adults went inside the room where they had had the Order Meeting. It was only then that he remembered something. Not wanting to interrupt, he waited for them to come out. To break the monotony, and also not wanting to be questioned by them about the graves, he spoke up.

"Where do you think we need to start looking for the Horcruxes?" he asked the room in general.

"Well, from what you've told us, maybe we need to look in places which Voldemort valued highly…" Hermione said. They both looked at Ron, who shrugged.

"They can be anywhere, really," he said and Harry could almost hear Hermione mutter "As if we didn't know that already," Ron just scowled back at her.

"I guess we need to ask Lupin or someone," she said.

"What do you need to ask me?" Lupin asked. Harry turned around to see Amanda, Lupin and Tonks standing by the doorway, positively beaming.

"What are you all grinning about?" Eliza asked them.

"Guess what?" said Tonks. "We've found a substitute for the Dementors, to guard Azkaban."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Make a guess," Tonks said, her eyes twinkling.

"No idea," Ron muttered.

"I'll tell you. It's-"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Discussions and Doubts

"-Grawp," Amanda finished. 

Ron and Harry gave her a surprised look, while Hermione looked as though she was sure she had not heard it right. Eliza raised her eyebrows.

"Grawp? Hagrid's half-brother, you mean?" Hermione asked, still looking as though she did not dare believe her ears.

"Yes," Tonks confirmed, her shoulder-length violent purple hair bobbing up and down.

"What's wrong?" Lupin asked, a frown creased on his forehead.

"_Nothing,_" Ron said and no one missed the sarcasm in his voice. "Unless you count his favourite hobby: ripping ten foot tall trees to pieces," 

"He's a giant, Ron," reminded Tonks. "What do you expect?"

"Exactly my point," Ron said, as though he was trying to talk some sense into them. "He's a giant, so how do you expect him to guard Azkaban?"

"And the Ministry is fine with that?" asked Hermione in a faint voice.

"Of course not," said Amanda briskly.

"But then, how-" began Harry.

"He's going to be disguised as a security troll," said Tonks.

"Security troll?" repeated Ron.

"Yes, the Ministry is going to hire a few of them for Azkaban and Grawp will be one of them," elaborated Lupin.

"And the Ministry can't differentiate between a giant and a troll?" asked Ron.

"You don't get it," said Tonks, exasperatedly. "Grawp is going to be _disguised_ meaning transfigured into one,"

"It is foolproof," added Amanda.

"Right, I promised Mum I'd come home," Tonks said, looking at her watch, "so, bye everyone," she said and Disapparated.

"Amanda, have you had a look at the _Prophet_?" Lupin asked.

"No," she replied. "What's up with them? Digging stuff about the Ministry again, are they?"

"Yeah, wait until you see this," Lupin said as he looked around for the newspaper. He finally found it on the floor, and handed over the paper to her. There was a large picture of Severus Snape, in dull black robes, sneering at all of them. Harry looked at the article. "SEVERUS SNAPE SLIPS" claimed the headlines in huge bold letters. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Eliza looked over her shoulders to read the article.

__

Things continue to look bad for the Ministry as they once again allowed a dangerous murderer and a top Death Eater, who could also possibly be a madman, Severus Snape, slip, after being so close to finally imprison Albus Dumbledore's murderer.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, the famous Auror, had an encounter with Snape around midday yesterday in Spinners' End, a Muggle street. Snape had reportedly told him that he had murdered Dumbledore only because You-Know-Who had forced him to. Snape had claimed innocence and Disapparated before the Auror could react. It is also to be noted that this is the first time Shacklebolt has failed in his capture. Though he was unavailable for comment, a trusted source within the Ministry confided that Shacklebolt, might be losing his touch, but refused to divulge into further details. (contd pg 3, col 4)

"Losing his touch?" Amanda cried incredulously, throwing the paper down in disgust. "Who do they think they're talking about? Kingsley's one of the best Aurors around."

"Wait, there's more to come," Lupin said calmly, as he picked up the paper, and showed them the third page. There was a photograph of a grim-looking McGonagall below which was the headlines "MINISTRY DECIDES TO REOPEN HOGWARTS - MINERVA MCGONAGALL, THE NEW HEADMISTRESS"

__

The recent decision of the Ministry of Magic to open Hogwarts for the upcoming academic year, even after the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was murdered by one of his own staff member, Severus Snape; has evoked mixed responses from the Wizarding Community. While most of them have expressed their opinion that Hogwarts may not be the safe anymore, there remain a few wizards who are of the opinion that the reopening of Hogwarts might put an end to a few, if not all, problems. Mrs Augusta Longbottom says, "I have no second thoughts about sending my grandson back to Hogwarts. It's the safest place there is. As for the choice of Minerva to be their new Head, I have nothing to complain about." While Mrs Longbottom expresses her whole faith in the school, other parents like Mr Smith, have expressed their concern to oppose the Ministry's decision, "I'm still in two minds about this. Though McGonagall might turn out to be a better Head than Dumbledore had been, many of us remain worried about the safety of our children. There's no assurance-" 

"I don't need to read anymore of this," Amanda threw the paper into the dying fire nearby. Silence fell for a few minutes. Harry's thoughts returned to the Horcruxes. There were four more Horcruxes to be destroyed, apart from the maimed soul in Voldemort's body, and he still had not started on the search for them. He let out a deep breath when Lupin voiced exactly what was in Harry's mind.

"So, Harry," Lupin began seriously. "Any plans on where to start looking for the Horcruxes?"

"Er-" he glanced immediately at Ron and Hermione who looked deeply interested.

"What do you know about the Horcruxes, Harry?" Amanda asked.

"Well, there are seven in all and two of them: the ring, and the diary, have been destroyed. What remain, are the snake Nagini, Hufflepuff's cup, something of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's, and the locket," he counted them off his fingers.

"Right," said Amanda. "We need to start looking for the Horcruxes as soon as possible. I think we've got a fair amount of information of where to begin our search," she paused and Harry waited for her to go on. "I think we need to start looking at places which the Dark Lord valued highly. Any ideas, Harry?"

"Er- some place he valued highly? Maybe somewhere that's somehow connected to great wizards and witches like the Hogwarts founders?" he asked doubtfully.

"Very good," Lupin smiled at his former student. "Do not forget the other places Dumbledore showed you through his Pensieve. Those places would be potential Horcrux hiding places."

"Can you name them, Harry?" said Amanda.

"Um… first we saw the Gaunt house." Harry paused, trying to recollect whatever he had seen in the past year, "Then, there was the orphanage were Riddle grew up, and then there was Hogwarts…wait a moment, you don't think a Horcrux could be in _Hogwarts?_" Harry tried to hide the shock from his voice.

"It could be anywhere, Harry," Amanda frowned slightly at this thought.

"Yeah, but _Hogwarts?_" he said, looking sceptical.

"Harry, you know how much The Dark Lord valued Hogwarts; it was almost like a second home to him. So it's definitely possible, if not probable. There could be at least one Horcrux at Hogwarts," Amanda elaborated.

"Right," said Harry. He was still unable to digest the fact that Hogwarts, his virtual home, could hold a Horcrux. "And then, that lady's house, I think she was called Hepzibah Smith or something," his brow furrowed, as he thought hard. "That's it, I guess,"

"Right, we would need to check all these places, before we do anything else," Lupin muttered, he then turned his attention back to Harry. "But before that, have you got your Apparation licenses and your registration done?" he asked.

"What registration?" Harry asked

"Oh, you need to register with the Ministry that you are of age, so that they would stop monitoring you for any underage magic," Amanda explained.

"We haven't got the registration stuff done, but I've got my Apparition license," Hermione said.

"You two haven't got yours yet?" Lupin asked.

Ron and Harry nodded in response.

"Oh, then you need to get them first thing. I'll just pop into the Ministry and check if there are any old pals in there." Amanda gave them a small wink and Disapparated.

"If you've got nothing to do, then why don't you check out Amanda's library?" Lupin suggested, for he saw that the four of them looked definitely bored.

"Great idea," said Hermione jumping to her feet.

"Eliza, you'll show them the way, won't you?" he said at her. She just nodded up at him, and motioned for them to follow her. Though Harry and Ron did not feel like poring over books in the Library, they got up to their feet and followed Eliza. When they reached the third floor, Harry saw that there was only one door in the entire corridor. Eliza pushed open the magnificently carved oak doors; Harry felt his jaw drop. A dim chandelier lit the room giving it a pleasant ambience. It was as large as the entrance hall below; there was a small round table near the door with five chairs around it. Harry looked up at the rows of books and he could count about ten columns, each containing hundreds of books. How anybody had managed to acquire such a collection of books, Harry could not imagine.

"This is it," Eliza declared. Harry turned to look around at Ron and Hermione and saw that they felt exactly as he did.

"There are books on defensive spells and such, here" –she indicated the first column – "and the column after that has books on Transfiguration skills, Animagus skills, Metamorphmagus skills and the next one has books on all kinds of Charms, and the next column is entirely devoted to Potions - all kinds, mind you. And the next column should be the one you need to look in; it contains books on the Dark Arts, effective charms and skills to help fight them."

"Shall we get started, then?" Hermione asked; her face glowed with enthusiasm. Ron and Harry nodded and they walked towards that column, and picked out a book at random. They walked towards the small table at the corner. Harry opened his book "The Dark Arts- A Study" and began to pore over its tiny print.

"Why not take down notes of important spells or charms?" Eliza suggested, looking at Hermione. "It always helps,"

"Good idea," said Harry as Hermione conjured quills, ink and parchment for them to write down. Every time they came across a new spell, they jotted it down. It continued for two hours, and Harry did not notice time tick away. He was too engrossed in his reading.

"Good to see you aren't wasting your time," said a voice. Harry turned around in his chair, and saw that Amanda stood by the doorway with a smile on her face. "Regarding your registration, you need to come with a parent or a guardian to the Ministry of Magic at four o' clock." She looked at Ron and continued, "I visited The Burrow and Arthur's coming here to take you, Ron." She turned towards Hermione and said, "We need to go to your home to inform them, Hermione," She finally turned to Harry, "As for you, Harry, you would need to come with the Dursleys."

Harry let out a long sigh. He needed to ask the Dursleys to come, which was as easy as taking fifty Blast-Ended Skrewts for a walk.

"Don't worry, Harry," she said simply. "The Dursleys can be persuaded easily. We'll go as soon as you've had some food, come now," Motioning all of them to follow her; they went downstairs to the first floor to the dining hall. After a scrumptious meal, Amanda said, "Remus, can you Apparate with Hermione to her house? Bring her parents here? Oh, and before that, let me remove the Muggle Repelling Charms from this place." She waved her wand in an elaborate sweeping motion, uttering a long incantation. "Fine, the charm's removed now, and Harry and I would be headed for the Dursleys. Ron, you stay here with Eliza." They all nodded in response.

Harry and Amanda walked out of the room, when she said, "Wait here, Harry," and disappeared into a room. When she came back, Harry saw that she was wearing Muggle clothes, and had done quite a neat job of it, for she looked exactly like a Muggle. They then walked to the entrance hall, and opened the door, muttering the password. She flung out her right hand; the Knight Bus came into view with a bang. Before the conductor, a short grubby wizard, could speak, Amanda said, "Two to Privet Drive, Surrey, please,"

"That's twelve Sickles, Miss," he said gruffly. She handed over the silver, and they climbed in. After an uneventful ride, they reached Privet Drive.

They got down, and Amanda rang the Dursleys' doorbell. It was Uncle Vernon who opened the door, and casted a frightened look at the pair of them, but he stood his ground. "What do you want?" he asked rudely.

"Oh, are you Mr Dursley? Pleased to meet you. I'm Mrs Rosenay," Amanda cheerfully introduced herself as she held out her hand.

Uncle Vernon did not take her hand, but repeated his question, "What do you want?

"I need to ask a small favour of you, Mr Dursley," Amanda said. "Perhaps we can discuss this inside?" without waiting for a response, she barged into their sitting room. Uncle Vernon looked furious, but was too befuddled to speak his mind. 

"You and your wife, as Harry's guardians would need to accompany Harry to the Ministry of Magic today at four o' clock. Can you make it?" she requested politely.

"What makes you think we would?" Uncle Vernon sneered.

"Oh, the fact that you are Muggles, of course," Amanda said with a smile, drawing out her wand, and twirling it between her fingers. Uncle Vernon cast a frightened look at her wand, and gulped. He knew that he did not have a chance with her.

"Right," said Uncle Vernon and gulped. "I'll - I'll come,"

"That's better." Amanda said, and replaced her wand. "We'll take a Portkey to the Ministry of Magic at four o' clock, sharp. I'll come back for you, Mr. Dursley. I hope you'll be ready for me," she added in an asserting tone.

Uncle Vernon gulped again, and nodded slightly.

"We need to take leave now, Mr. Dursley, have a nice day," she said with a smile as they walked out of the house. 

"Mrs. Rosenay, how did you manage to do that?" Harry asked, looking amazed.

"Oh," said Amanda, smiling. "Your uncle was rather easy. It would have been difficult had it been your aunt,"

"Do you know them?" Harry asked suspiciously, as she flung out her right hand.

"We've met, although that was years ago," she said. Before Harry could ask anything more, the Knight Bus came into view. "Two to Godric's Hollow please." She drew out some silver and handed it to the grubby conductor.

"Where did you meet them, Mrs Rosenay?" Harry said, resuming the conversation.

"Oh, we were all invited for Petunia's wedding by Lily," she said, as her face became clouded. "I'll show you photos of it when we get back," she added with a smile.

They reached Godric's Hollow in fifteen minutes. Lupin and Hermione had not arrived yet. Ron and Eliza were in the middle of a game of wizard's chess.

"What happened, mate?" Ron asked, looking up.

"Oh, we or rather, she" – Harry nodded towards Amanda – "managed to persuade Uncle Vernon,"

"That's good news," Eliza said, smiling.

"I'll be in the Library if you need me," Amanda informed them before she walked away.

"What about your registration?" Harry asked Eliza.

"Oh, it was over in France before I came here," she answered.

"So, you can Apparate now?" Ron asked, looking rather resentful.

Eliza just nodded in response to him, and Harry sat down to look at their match, which was quite closely fought, involving a violent bishop and an interesting check mate.

Mr. Weasley Apparated into the room with a resounding crack; Harry saw that though he looked cheerful, there were distinct worry lines across his forehead, and he seemed a little tired.

"Hello, Harry, Eliza," he said, smiling at them, and clapping Ron at the back.

"Hello, Mr Weasley," they chorused in reply.

"Tomorrow's the marriage, at The Burrow," he added proudly. It was only then that Harry was reminded of Bill and Fleur's wedding. He nodded at Mr. Weasley, who continued to smile.

"Where's Amanda?" Mr Weasley asked, looking around the room.

"In the Library, third floor," Eliza said, pointing upwards. Mr Weasley left to join Amanda upstairs. Fifteen minutes passed by and still there was no sign of Hermione or Lupin; Harry was beginning to get worried.

"It's getting late, isn't it?" Eliza said, glancing at her watch, and it was a quarter to four. Harry glanced uneasily around at Ron, who looked just as Harry felt. He could hear footsteps and he turned to see Amanda, and Mr Weasley hurrying downstairs.

"We've just received news of another Death Eater attack," she panted breathlessly. "I'm afraid there might be a fatality, though I'm not too sure. You lot will not leave the house until I return, got that? Right, we need to hurry, and _do not leave the house!_" Amanda and Mr Weasley then Disapparated.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, as though their worst fears had been confirmed. Eliza trembled uncontrollably and after a long restless pause, Ron whispered in a shaky voice, "You don't think they got Hermione?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- The Aftermath

Harry did not say a word. His throat seemed oddly constricted and he looked up at the ceiling, sick with apprehension. _The Death Eaters could not have gotten to Hermione, she is safe,_ he assured himself, yet he could not explain the horrible sinking feeling in his stomach. Ten minutes had passed, and still there was no sign of Hermione or Lupin. Suddenly, there was a popping sound and Harry could have cried out in relief, for it was Hermione.

"Hermione!" said Harry and Ron at the same time. "You're alright!"

She looked oddly flustered, and threw herself onto Ron's shoulders and began to sob uncontrollably. He looked shocked, but patted her head awkwardly. After that brief embrace, she drew away from him, and sat on the cushion, holding her forehead in her palms, shaking uncontrollably. She seemed to be grieved beyond expression of words.

Harry sat next to her, and said, "Hermione, is something wrong?"

She let out a stream of words, in which Harry could only make out, "Mum and Dad". Harry looked at Ron again, who was mouthing soundlessly like a goldfish.

"What happened?" he asked Hermione urgently.

"Mum and Dad," she said, being able to speak again, "they-they w-were subjected to the Cru-Cruciatus Curse and…" her voice died as she was engulfed by a fresh bowl of misery. Harry shut his eyes, as Neville's parents floated into his mind. Unless he was very wrong, and he had never dearly hoped he was, Mr and Mrs Granger had become quite like them.

"Are they at St. Mungo's?" Ron asked, in a hollow voice. Hermione nodded, tears threatened to roll down her cheeks.

"I'm going to see them," Hermione said. She stood up, a look of determination on her face.

"I'm afraid you can't, Hermione," said a crisp voice behind them.

It was Amanda. Her robes were singed in a few places, and she seemed to be limping slightly.

"Mrs Rosenay, I need to see them," Hermione cried, desperately.

"They're at St Mungo's and the Healers said that they can't examine them until after a day or two," she said in a soothing voice.

"Is there anyway I can see them?" she asked, her voice trembled in anguish.

"They do not allow visitors inside, it's no use." Amanda tried to console her, but she immediately flared up.

"I'm not any visitor, I'm their daughter!" Hermione said defiantly.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but I'm afraid you can see them only tomorrow, not earlier than that," she said in the same soothing voice, but there was a note of strictness that made Hermione keep her silence on the matter.

"Mum, what about Uncle Remus?" Eliza asked quickly.

"He'll survive," Amanda answered shortly, making it sound as though Lupin was fighting death.

"When can I see him?" she added anxiously.

"I expect Nymphadora will be coming later," she answered in a drained voice.

"Right," Amanda said. She looked towards Ron and Harry. "About your registration today, I'm going to the Ministry to see if it can be postponed. Don't leave the house," she reminded them before she Disapparated.

Ron and Harry looked around helplessly at Hermione, but Eliza strode into the room where Amanda had gone to change her appearance before leaving for the Dursleys. Eliza returned with a glass phial in hand, it contained a clear, deep blue liquid.

"Here, drink this, Hermione," she said as she uncorked the phial and handed it over to her. Hermione looked at Eliza doubtfully, and was assured, "It'll make you feel better, trust me."

Hermione took the phial gratefully, and gulped it down. She murmured a soft 'thanks' in reply.

"I think you need to go to bed," Eliza said, looking at Harry and Ron.

Harry, Ron and Eliza hoisted Hermione up by her arms and helped her walk up the stairs. As soon as her head hit the warmth of her pillow, she fell asleep. Eliza conjured three chairs for each of them to sit. They sat down, and stared in different directions, not willing to talk to each other. They just watched Hermione, sleeping peacefully; oblivious to what had just happened to her parents. 

Thoughts on the recent events ensured a rise in Harry's anger. Hermione's parents had been Muggles; that must have been the reason for the Death Eaters' attack. And it did not help that he, Harry, was their daughter's best friend. Just as he thought about this, a hot sick swooping sense of guilt overtook him. So, it came down to him. He must be the reason if Hermione's parents had been tortured to insanity, for he could not think of any other reason for it. It was his fault, as it always was. He covered his face with his hands, and closed his eyes. He did not know how many more innocent people would lose their lives before he finally defeated Voldemort. After what seemed like ages, Ron broke the silence.

"What did you give her?" he asked Eliza, almost rudely.

"It's just Cheering Potion," she answered, frowning at Ron. Her frown looked vaguely familiar to Harry, though he could not exactly determine whom she reminded him of.

"Cheering what?" he asked.

"Cheering Potion," she repeated. When they continued to look bewildered; she explained, "Sort of like a Cheering Charm."

"But then, why is she asleep?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I added a doze of Sleeping Potion in it," she answered, her face shining.

"Are you sure about this?" Ron asked rudely. "She looks funny,"

"I know what I'm doing," she replied shortly, looking thoroughly offended. She frowned at him, and Harry thought the frown looked vaguely familiar, but did not bother too much about it.

They sat again in silence, and Harry tried in vain to hold back the mental image of Mr and Mrs Granger lying in St. Mungo's, totally unaware of what was going around them.

"There you are," said a familiar voice.

Harry, Ron and Eliza turned around and saw Fred and George standing by the doorway.

"How're you Harry?" they asked, in unison. Harry nodded, unable to speak. They eyed Hermione lying on the bed, their faces wore identical frowns.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"_Escorting,_" George said, "you two,"

"And, where are you _escorting_ us?" Ron asked in a tone that mimicked George's own.

"To the Burrow, little bro'," said Fred in a sing song voice.

"Why should we go to The Burrow?" asked Ron, looking confused.

George smirked. "Poor Ron," he sang, "Someone put a Memory Charm on you?"

"Well," said Fred, smirking too. "If you remember we've got a brother named Bill, and if you remember he's getting married tomorrow."

"Yeah," said George. "Mum's having kittens. _'Little Bill's so grown up,'_" he mimicked his mother's voice perfectly.

"Right," said Fred, pulling out a teacup from his pocket and holding it out to Harry and Ron.

"It's a Portkey," said George simply, in answer to their bewildered looks.

"I'm not coming," said Harry, Fred and George looked at him, surprised. He did not feel very much like attending a wedding, to leave Hermione all alone. He had to stay.

"What?" said Fred. "But Harry-"

"Please, don't force me. I don't think I could leave her-" he nodded at Hermione "-alone,"

There was silence and then George spoke up. "Right then, Ron, hold it."

And they were gone in a flash of colour.

"Well," said Eliza uncertainly, "shall I wake Hermione up?"

"No," said Harry firmly. "It would be kinder to let her sleep," Eliza nodded in response.

"I'm going to the Library," she informed him, "I can't just sit here and watch her. It's driving me mad."

"I'm coming along," Harry said. Anywhere to forget about what had just happened would be heaven to him. They went down to the Library, and while Eliza chose _Olde and Forgotten Potions_, Harry picked up a handsomely embroidered leather-bound book about the Dark Arts, _The Light Against The Dark._ He opened the book and felt his stomach turn, for inside was a neatly written note. It read:

__

From Lily Evans to Rosina Black  
December 25, 1975

Questions sprang into Harry's mind: Who was Rosina Black? How had his mother known her? Where was she now, if she was alive?

"Eliza?" he called.

"Yes?" came her voice from inside.

"Who is Rosina Black?" he asked, his heart thumping.

She came out from inside and repeated, "Who, Harry?"

He showed her the note.

"Oh this," she said, frowning. "Rosina Black was one of your mother's friends at school."

"But- but I've never seen such a name in the Black's family tree," he said, suddenly remembering.

"You wouldn't," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Because she was removed from the family tree,"

"Oh," he said. "Where is she now?"

"Dead," she said simply. "Ages ago."

"How do you know all this?" he asked, slightly suspicious.

"From Mum," she answered.

"And how did she get this book?" Harry asked still suspicious.

"I expect she gave it to Mum," she answered thoughtfully. After a slight pause, she said, "Oh, and be careful with this book, Harry; it's Mum's favourite."

Harry nodded, and she went back to the shelf. Harry watched her go. He turned the pages of the book without actually reading it. His mind was oddly blank, and he had read the same line for almost five times, before he snapped the book shut.

"Wotcher, Harry," said a voice behind him.

Harry turned around and saw Tonks. Her hair was mousy coloured, and she looked tired.

"Where's Hermione?" asked Tonks anxiously.

"She's in the bedroom," answered Harry.

"Oh, how is she taking the news?" said Tonks in a soft voice.

"Tonks," said Eliza, urgently. "How's Uncle Remus?"

"He's alright," said Tonks and her voice shook slightly. "You can visit him now. I'm here to take you all."

"Oh, that's great," said Harry and Eliza together.

"Yeah," said Tonks smiling at them. "But the problem is we can't leave Hermione alone."

"You need not worry about that," said a deep voice behind them.

It was Kingsley Shacklebolt. He was wearing a green T-shirt and blue jeans; in Harry's opinion, he looked quite like a Muggle.

"You can stay here, Tonks," said Kingsley. "I will take them to St Mungo's."

"Oh, that's nice of you," said Tonks gratefully.

"No problem," he said. "Anyway, I need to speak to Remus myself,"

"Right, come on then, both of you," he said placing a firm hand on Harry's shoulder and steering him. They climbed down the staircase, through the Hall, and came to the huge oak door. Kingsley whispered the password to it, and it sprang open obediently. They stepped out and the warm Autumn air whipped their faces. Kingsley flung out his right hand and the Knight Bus; a violet double-decker bus came into view.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus,-" began the grubby wizard in a grumpy voice.

"We know, we know," said Kingsley impatiently. "Three to St. Mungo's."

"Right," said the wizard wearily, "That'll cost you nine Sickles each."

Kingsley gave him the gold and they got inside the Bus. After a half an hour ride in which they either got knocked off their seats or onto one another, they finally reached the Muggle shop that led to St Mungo's. Kingsley whispered something to the female dummy in front, and he pushed Harry forward. He felt as though he was stepping through ice, and then, they were in the Welcome Witch room. They joined the queue in front of them. Harry looked around; the room was crowded almost to double the number compared to Harry's visits last year, and the problems seemed to become more serious than ever. There was a woman in front of them, holding a small boy in her arms, whose face was a deadly green, and the colour was slowly spreading to his arms and face. He appeared to be unconscious. And there was also an elderly looking witch, supported another wizard who looked like her son. She had great boils all over her face and kept muttering to herself. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, they finally reached the Welcome Witch.

"We're visiting Remus Lupin," said Kinsley in his deep voice.

"Remus Lupin…Remus Lupin…" muttered the witch distractedly, looking through the long list in front of her. "Spell Damage, Fourth Floor, Dilys Derwent Ward,"

"Thank you," said Kingsley, and beckoned them forward. They went to the Fourth Floor and entered the Dilys Derwent Ward. Harry was happy to see that Lupin was sitting up; when he saw them, he smiled brightly. His arm was supported by a sling, and there was a great purple slash across his cheek. The other three occupants of the Ward were a small girl who seemed to asleep, an elderly wizard who had bandages on his leg, and a witch who was unconscious.

"Uncle Remus, how're you feeling?" asked Eliza, her eyebrows knitted in concern.

"Fine," said Lupin as he smiled at them. "I could come home, right now,"

"Remus," said Kingsley, "What happened?"

"Hermione and I Apparated to her house to inform her parents about her registration. After about ten minutes, the Death Eaters Apparated, and they wanted to know where Harry was. When we refused to give any information, they began to attack. They put the Cruciatus Curse on Hermione's parents, and then they Disapparated when you lot arrived." Remus finished, a look of disgust etched on the fine lines of his face.

Harry felt a sinking sense of guilt as he heard Lupin. His earlier suspicions were correct, he was the reason. This confirmed that he was the sole reason for Hermione's parents' torture.

"Harry," said Lupin soothingly, as though he had read Harry's mind. "Don't go blaming yourself for what happened."

"Well, I am responsible for all this," said Harry bitterly.

"No one blames it on you, Harry," said Kingsley quietly.

"That doesn't mean I'm not at fault, does it?" asked Harry resentfully.

"Harry," said Lupin, reaching out to pat his arm. "Don't you understand that with or without you, we were going to be attacked? We're at war, Harry," he whispered.

"Did you see who the Death Eaters were?" asked Kingsley, interrupting them.

"Malfoy, Jugson, and Mulciber," said Lupin quietly.

No one spoke for a long time, and then a motherly-looking Healer came in.

"Mr Lupin," she said brightly. "You're up,"

"When can I go?" asked Lupin, attempting a smile.

"Well," she said, examining his arm, "tomorrow."

"Right."

"Well, we'll be off then," said Kingsley. "It's nearly time for my shift."

Though Eliza looked as though she wanted to stay a bit longer, she got up along with them.

"Take care, Uncle Remus," she said, and he kissed her forehead, and patted Harry's arm.

"We'll be off then," said Kingsley cheerfully, and they walked out. They returned to the house after an uneventful journey in the Knight Bus. Kingsley muttered something about having guard duty. Tonks left to report to the Ministry about the attack. Harry and Eliza spent rest of the day reading in the Library; Harry occasionally took notes of new spells and such, which would come handy in the near future. Time passed by in silence.

After his dinner, he went to bed and lay on it. He fell asleep soon enough, and he had a very strange dream, probably because he had eaten too much. He dreamt about Bill and Fleur waltzing around The Burrow, he could smell flowers and there was confetti falling on the top of his head, and then the dream changed. He was in Grimmauld Place watching Hermione wept over Lupin's dead body… Rosina Black smirked at him from her place on the Black's Family tree… Harry was trying to flatten his hair as he stood in front of the mirror, but his face suddenly changed to Neville's, and before he realised what had happened, Neville's round face was replaced by Eliza's thin face, and then, as suddenly as though somebody slapped him, he woke up. Though he was sure that it was just another of his stupid dreams, he raised his hand to his face, and felt it. It was just as it had always been. With that comforting thought, he slumped back into his pillows. The next day when he woke up, though, he remembered nothing of the dream.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Registration and Revelation

Harry woke up late the next morning. He stretched as he looked around in his room at Godric's Hollow. Sunlight streamed through the high windows which were draped with thick velvet curtains. The candlestick still held the melted wax, which had been glorious candles the previous day. He watched, amazed as the wax began to pile itself up and once again stood as a candle, ready to be lit. Images of the previous day began to flash before his eyes. He tried not to think about Hermione's parents, he threw off his covers as someone knocked on his door. The door was thrown open. Hermione ran in, she looked alight with happiness.

"Oh, Harry," she said, her face shining, "Mum and Dad are alright."

"Wow," said Harry, as he felt a tight knot undo in his stomach, "that's great, Hermione."

"Yeah, I thought something worse could have happened…" she said, and Harry understood she was referring to Neville's parents.

"Well, get dressed, Harry," she stood up straight to regain her composure, "we're going to see them after breakfast."

Harry nodded. She left the room and closed the door behind her. He got dressed, got a few insults from the mirror on the cupboard for his hair that refused to lie down. He then proceeded to the kitchen; the aroma of bacon and eggs welcomed him as he entered the room. Hermione, Amanda, Eliza were seated around the table. Amanda looked up from the tray she held and smiled at Harry.

"Your registration is today," she said, "four O' clock in the afternoon." As everyone began their breakfast, Harry was left to his own thoughts. He tried to stop thinking about Hermione's parents, his thoughts drifted to the Registration test he was going to take. He felt pretty nervous about it, though he did not know what exactly made him nervous.

Harry polished off his bacon and eggs and stood up from his chair as Hermione and Eliza stood up from their chairs. Amanda drew out her wand and waved. The plates and goblets vanished, leaving the table sparkling clean.

"What are you waiting for? C'mon," she called, walking out of the room. They followed her. Amanda gave the password to the door and they stepped out of the house into the cheery sunny day. She flung out her right hand and the purple Knight Bus appeared.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus," began the grubby wizard in an un-welcoming voice.

"Four to St. Mungo's," said Amanda swiftly.

The wizard muttered, "Hmph," as he showed them inside. They sat in their seats and Amanda handed out the gold. Nothing significant occurred on the ride, unless you counted Eliza falling from her seat five times in a row. They alighted at the entrance to St. Mungo's and Harry looked around. The place was crowded, yet there was a lot of space for the Knight Bus to be stopped. As the Knight Bus bumped off, they made their way into the Reception.

St. Mungo's looked as gloomy as ever, even on that cheery summer day. The Welcome Witch seemed to be in a bad mood, she shouted at the visitors for no apparent reason. Harry sighed for they had been waiting for almost half an hour in the long queue. Not wanting to hear the Welcome Witch screams; Harry looked around and spotted an additional note on the floor guide. It read:

MUGGLES...Sixth Floor

Any kind of treatment for Muggles (The Non-Magical Community)

He nudged Hermione and pointed towards the additional note on the Floor Guide.

"Oh yes, St. Mungo's had added a new floor for Muggles," she said, airily.

Harry frowned. "But why would they need a new floor? Last year, Mr. Weasley-"

"There have been way too many Muggle accidents, so they had to add a new floor exclusively for Muggles," Eliza cut in onto their conversation. Harry stared at her, surprised. She shrugged, "It was in the Daily Prophet."

"Come on now," called Amanda as they made their way towards the sixth floor. They entered the Ward and Harry thought not only the patients, but also the people who were visiting looked jumpy. As he surveyed the patients, Harry's eyes spotted a small boy who had arms sprouting from his head. Hermione had rushed up to her parents' beds. Harry was glad that they were sitting up.

"Mum, Dad," she said as she hugged her mother. "How're you?" she asked.

Mrs. Granger sat up gingerly and hugged her daughter.

"We're fine, honey," Mr. Granger inspected his daughter and asked, "and you?"

"Fine."

"When can we get back home?" Mrs. Granger asked the room in general.

"I'm sure you can return to your house today," answered Amanda. "Oh, we haven't been introduced. I'm Amanda Rosenay, and this is my daughter Eliza," she said. She extended her hand towards Mrs. Granger.

"I'm Jane Granger. This is my husband, Mike," responded Mrs. Granger, as she took Amanda's hand.

"Oh, and we've added a few security measures to your home, Mrs. Granger. No one can Apparate in or out of your house anymore; it's also unplottable now," Amanda added conversationally.

Hermione's mother just nodded in response, clearly not understanding a word.

"Right then," said Amanda. She clapped her hands together, "Hermione, if you want to stay a bit longer, we're going to see Remus,"

Hermione nodded. Harry, Eliza and Amanda left to see Lupin. They entered the ward in the fourth floor. Harry saw Lupin was reading the Daily Prophet, when he saw them come in, he raised his hand in welcome. He looked tired, but otherwise he was fine.

"Remus," said Amanda, "how're you feeling?"

"Fine," he smiled, causing his eyes to twinkle. "Eliza, Harry," he added to the pair of them.

The motherly-looking Healer bustled in, she seemed highly preoccupied, and muttered to herself. She walked up to Lupin's bed, and examined his hand.

"Well, well," she said, more to herself than to Lupin. "Mr. Lupin, you're fine,"

"Can I go?" he asked her.

"Of course," said the Healer and waved her wand. A piece of parchment appeared along with quill and ink.

"You sign this," said the Healer and thrust the parchment to him. Lupin sat up gingerly and fumbled with the quill for a second. He then signed the parchment and looked up, unsure of where to leave it. All of a sudden, the parchment, quill and ink began to float, and Harry looked up to see the Healer waving her wand.

"Right then," said Amanda with a smile. "What are we waiting for? Let's go," she added in a commanding voice. They returned to the sixth floor and met up with Hermione.

"My parents can go home now," she informed them.

"Remus," said Amanda in a low voice, "maybe I should go with them, just to be sure."

"Fine, I'll take the others home," Lupin whispered back.

"OK, Eliza, Hermione, Harry, go with Remus," she instructed. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I'll take you home."

"Umm, Mrs. Rosenay?" began Mrs. Granger tentatively, "No offence meant, but we'd prefer travelling by the normal way."

"Muggle transport you mean?" verified Amanda, a grin flitting across her face. Mrs. Granger just nodded in response. "No problem," added Amanda, as Mrs. Granger's face brightened. "In fact, we need to take a train to your residence."

"Right," said Lupin. "Come on, you lot, the sooner we get home, the better."

"Listen, everyone," said Amanda. Harry looked up from the game of Wizard's Chess he had been playing with Eliza. Hermione was engrossed in a book on a nearby couch.

"Your Ministry registration will be today at four o' clock in the afternoon," she told them, "it would be best if Muggles didn't know about this place, not that they can't be trusted or anything, but it's just safer that way. So the Dursleys and Grangers will arrive directly to the Ministry."

"What about Ron?" asked Hermione.

Amanda grinned at Hermione, and there was a knowing look in her eyes. Hermione blushed. "I believe Arthur and Molly will arrive at the Ministry with Ron," she replied.

"Right, and your Apparation tests," Amanda looked at Harry. "That'll be today as well. Right after your registration."

"OK," said Harry, he could not hide the slight nervousness from his voice.

"It's not difficult, Harry," said Lupin bracingly, as though he had read Harry's mind.

Harry said nothing, but he nodded in response.

"Remus, will you stay at home with Eliza?" asked Amanda.

"No problem," Lupin smiled.

Harry turned back to look at the game. "Queen to E5."

"My Knight will take care off her," Eliza grinned. As she spoke, her knight smashed Harry's white queen to pieces.

"But," said Harry, bewildered. "You didn't even direct them."

Eliza laughed. "I've known them long enough for this, Harry."

"But, that's not fair," Harry protested.

And they continued to argue. Hermione, however, did not even look up from the Transfiguration book she held in her hand. The rest of the afternoon breezed away, and soon it was time for them to leave to the Ministry. Harry, Hermione and Amanda left the house at three o' clock. Amanda waved her wand and an old shoe appeared.

"Portus," she said firmly; it glowed with a blue light, and appeared normal again. "Hold on, now." Harry held it, and felt a familiar hook beyond his navel. After what seemed like hours to Harry, they hit the ground in what seemed like the backyard of a posh looking house. The afternoon sun's rays cast a shine on to the house, and it looked like one of the biggest houses in the family. There was a lawn in front, and there were begonias, which reminded Harry forcibly of Aunt Petunia. Unlike Aunt Petunia's, these seemed to be flourishing.

Harry saw Amanda glance around as if to check if they had been noticed by any Muggle. She also had her hand in her jacket in which, Harry assumed, she held her wand. They walked to the front porch; Harry saw the name Michael Granger on the nameplate. This must be the Grangers' residence, he realised. Amanda rang the doorbell. A crack in the door revealed Mrs. Granger, she looked flustered.

"Oh, it's you," she said, as though she had expected a monster to bring down her house.

"I hope you're ready, Mrs. Granger," Amanda said indifferently.

"Yes, yes," she nodded and smoothened the creases of her dress, "why don't you come in?"

"Sorry," answered Amanda, immediately rejecting the offer, "but we're in a hurry."

"Oh, fine," said Mrs. Granger nervously, and called out to her husband. In a minute, the Grangers came out, both of them looked apprehensive. Amanda held the old shoe and murmured 'Portus' again.

"If you will hold this," said Amanda thrusting a shoe at the Grangers. They looked plainly terrified at this thought and Harry held back a grin.

"Just a finger will do," Hermione added, to her tense looking parents. "It'll take us to the Ministry of Magic." Harry saw the Grangers exchange a glance, which plainly said 'how is a shoe going to help?'

"On the count of three then," said Amanda, "one, two, three."

They hit the ground in front of number four, Privet Drive. Harry thought it was quite an achievement that they were not seen by Muggles in both places, but he also suspected that Amanda cast some spell to avoid Muggle detection.

Amanda walked up towards the doorstep and rang the doorbell. The door opened a creak and Harry saw his Aunt Petunia.

"Who are you?" she asked rather rudely.

"Amanda Rosenay," she said in a crisp voice. "I'm here to take you and your husband to the Ministry of Magic," she said as though she was inviting them to a beach party.

Aunt Petunia did not reply but stared at Amanda, petrified. Her husband had obviously forgotten to mention Harry and Amanda's visit to their house. Uncle Vernon appeared behind Aunt Petunia, his walrus moustache twitched at the sight of them. He was dressed in his best black suit. He excused Petunia and himself, and immediately, Harry could hear Aunt Petunia screeching in protest. After about ten minutes, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon returned. Her face was flustered, and his moustache seemed to be twitching again.

"Come on then," said Amanda irritated, and led them out of the house.

She muttered 'Portus' for the third time that evening and the old shoe glowed blue once again.

"You need to hold it," she added to the Dursleys who were eyeing the old shoe with utmost contempt. "Just one finger will do," she added. Aunt Petunia whimpered, and looked as though she would faint, she held on to the shoe. Harry felt the familiar sensation of a hook beyond his navel for the third time that day, and after what seemed like ages, he felt his feet hit the ground.

"Where exactly are we?" asked Uncle Vernon, his face as red as a beetroot, as he picked himself up from the ground. They had just been transported to the 'Visitors entrance' of the Ministry of Magic. The place looked completely like a Muggle street that Uncle Vernon gave everybody a strange look. Harry began to wonder how everyone would to fit into the telephone box. Uncle Vernon looked like he would occupy half the telephone box himself.

"Right," said Amanda, "get into the telephone box, everyone."

Uncle Vernon muttered, 'Preposterous,' as they bustled in. Harry was amazed to see that all of them fit in quite nicely. Amanda, who was the nearest to the phone, dialled the number and the cool female voice responded.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business," she said.

"Amanda Rosenay, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley, Michael Granger and Jane Granger. We're here for the Ministry registration of overage wizards," said Amanda.

"Thank you," said the cool female voice, "visitor to the Ministry, please take your badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

Harry head a click and a clatter, and seven square silver badges appeared. Amanda distributed them, and Harry saw that it had the words, Harry Potter, Ministry Registration on it. As Harry pinned his badge, the cool female voice spoke again.

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit a search, and present your wands for registration at the security desk which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The telephone box shuddered suddenly, and Uncle Vernon gave an odd dog-like yelp. The telephone box began to sink into the ground, and after a minute, the cool female voice sounded again.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day."

The door of the telephone box sprang open and they scrambled out. Harry stepped in, and his last visit to the place had been one of his worst nightmares ever, and now he felt like he was walking into his nightmare itself. Somehow, every memory that the place held for him was bad. Right from his first visit, where he had to be tried for something that was not exactly a crime, and then he had to see his godfather die. Harry's feelings for the place had long changed.

He noticed that the place, however, looked the same as ever, as he crossed the fountain of Magical Brethren. It was intact even after it had been transfigured by Dumbledore the year before last. They walked up to the Security Desk and Harry saw the badly-shaven wizard look up at them.

"We're here for the Ministry registration of overage wizards," said Amanda, smiling at the wizard.

"Step over here," said the wizard in a bored voice. He ran a long golden rod up and down her front and back. He repeated the procedure for everyone, and Harry saw Uncle Vernon give Aunt Petunia a stern glance as though all this was her fault, before stepping up for the search.

"Wand," he grunted. Harry held up his wand. After checking it with the brass instrument that looked like a set of scales with only one pan, the wizard read the writing on it.

"Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use for six years, right?" he asked in the same bored voice. Harry nodded, and the wizard thrust his wand back at him. He checked Hermione's and Amanda's wand the same way, before turning to the Grangers and Dursleys.

"They're Muggles," said Amanda swiftly.

"Hmph," said the wizard and dug into his drawer to produce a heavy book.

"You sign here," he said to the four of them, jabbing at the page, "along with your full name and address." They fumbled with the quill, before Amanda conjured up a pen for them to use.

"A mark of your identification as well," the wizard said, after they had finished. "Come here," he added to a terrified Uncle Vernon. He muttered something about 'thought it was over when the wretched boy left', and shot a nasty look at Harry before the wizard then drew out his wand and ran it over Uncle Vernon's thumb. He repeated the same movement on the register, next to Uncle Vernon's name. Harry saw that Uncle Vernon's fingerprints had appeared on the parchment. After he had finished with all of them, they walked past the gates where the lifts stood behind golden grilles. They joined the crowd near one of the lifts, and as one lift descended with a lot of jingling and clattering, they scrambled in. They went up past Level Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three and when they reached Level Two, they got out, along with a few others.

"This is it," said Amanda, as they began to walk along the narrow corridor. They turned around a corner and walked past the Auror Headquarters to another pair of huge oak doors with a lopsided sign that read Ministry Registration of Overage Wizards. The room had high ceilings and sunlight filtered through its windows. There was an unused air about it as though it had not been in use for a long time. They walked through the doors and Harry spotted Ron along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, standing in a long queue. They seemed to be in conversation with a witch who wore a vulture topped hat. Harry guessed that the witch was Mrs. Longbottom. As they came nearer, Ron turned around and gave Harry and Hermione a smile which they returned.

"Arthur, Molly," said Amanda, nodding to them. "Oh, hello Mrs. Longbottom," she added looking at her, "how are you?"

"Fine dear," answered Mrs. Longbottom.

"And this is Neville?" she asked, looking at Neville, "My, the last time I saw you, you were only a baby." Neville gave her a half-hearted smile in response, and Harry saw him turn slightly red.

"Ah, Amanda," said Mrs. Longbottom, conversationally, "you're the new Transfiguration teacher, I hear?"

Amanda gave her a half-smile half-shrug, and Harry turned to Hermione, Ron and Neville.

"I thought McGonagall wanted her to be the Defence Against Dark Arts teacher?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Yeah, but I heard Gran telling Uncle Algie that McGonagall managed to find a new Defence Against Dark Arts teacher," said Neville.

"Wonder who it is..." said Hermione thoughtfully.

"So, been having a good holiday?" said Neville.

"Yeah, and you?" said Ron.

"Mine's been pretty good. You're going back to Hogwarts, right?" he added.

"Yeah..." said Harry.

An uneasy silence fell and Harry broke it by asking Ron about Bill's marriage.

"You should have seen Ginny with that sister of Fleur's, Gabrielle, or something," he said, laughing, "She looked murderous. And then Percy! He actually came, though Dad reckons he came only because Scrimgeour must have made him..." And Ron droned on and on about the marriage while Harry was in another world of his own. He felt slightly guilty for their break up, but he knew he missed her. Though he knew he could not afford to fall in love with anyone, he could not stop himself from thinking about Ginny.

Hermione was waving her hand in front of him. "Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, and was saved from further response as Mrs. Weasley called out to them for the registration. There was a desk, behind sat an irate looking wizard who wore robes of grass green. Harry was able to see only his face, for there were huge dusty volumes of books arranged in a higgledy-piggledy manner, one on top of the other, that hid him.

"Full name," he said gruffly looking at Harry.

"Harry James Potter,"

"Your parents were wizards?"

"Yes," said Harry with a slight air of annoyance.

The wizard jabbed his wand at the huge volumes and one huge volume with a big 'P' in front appeared, He tapped his wand again and Harry saw it open on one particular page.

"Potter...Potter..." he muttered, and tracking down the name, he waved his wand to conjure up quills and ink. Harry saw with a pang his Mum and Dad's names below a long line of names which he assumed to be his family's. The wizard wrote Harry's name below their names and then looked up.

"Parents or Guardians?" he said.

"Guardians," answered Harry.

"Are they wizards?" asked the wizard.

"No."

"Where are they?" he asked looking at the crowd behind Harry. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia bustled forward.

"Full name," he said in a bored voice.

"Vernon Ernest Dursley and Petunia Evans Dursley," said Uncle Vernon, suspiciously. The wizard noted their names down.

"Residential address," said the wizard.

"Number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey," said Uncle Vernon anxiously.

"You need to sign here, along with a mark of your identification," the wizard said to the Dursleys. "And you," he added to Harry, "need to produce your wand."

Harry handed over his wand, and he dropped it into the brass scale like device used by the Security wizard.

"Eleven inches, phoenix feather core, in use for six years, correct?" he asked, reading from a piece of parchment that had come out of the device.

"Yes," said Harry.

The wizard then turned towards the Dursleys and said, "Hold out your hand."

Uncle Vernon held up a pudgy hand tentatively, and the wizard ran his wand on his fat thumb and repeated the same movement on the parchment. He did the same for Aunt Petunia and then he called, "Next."

After the registration was over, Harry, Ron and Neville went over to the Level Two for their Apparation test. When they entered the Apparation Test Centre office, Harry's jaw fell open. Instead of being inside a dingy looking office - as he had expected, he was inside a street similar to the corner of a street that was as long as Diagon Alley, complete with shops. It ran narrow and Harry had to crane his neck to see the end which was blocked by a wall. Harry looked around and saw a portly wizard, with a clipboard at hand.

"Full name," he said in a raspy voice.

"Harry James Potter," said Harry nervously.

"You were born on July 31, 1980, correct?" asked the wizard, sifting through the papers of the clipboard.

"Yes," said Harry.

"Right, now I want you to Apparate to that shop over there, understand?" The wizard indicated with his hand.

Harry nodded, and closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the place he was supposed to Apparate to. Suddenly, he felt as though he was being sucked into a rubber pipe, his eyes were being forced back into their sockets, his ears were being pressed back into his skull, and as suddenly as it had begun, the sensation ended, and Harry tentatively opened his eyes. He was standing in front of the shop that the wizard had shown. He had done it.

"Right," said the wizard, and made a note on his clipboard. Harry waited to watch Ron and Neville Apparate and he was glad that they succeeded on their first attempt. After saying goodbye to the Longbottoms and the other Weasleys, the Grangers and the Dursleys were taken to their houses via Portkeys. By the time Harry, Ron, Hermione and Amanda Apparated to Grimmauld Place, it was dark.

"You've been away for a long time," complained Eliza.

"Supper," Amanda announced, ignoring her.

They went upstairs for dinner, and after that, Harry and Ron felt too sleepy to do anything else, though it was barely seven o' clock. Harry felt a nudge on his back and turned to see Hermione, a look of excitement on her face. She glanced around the room, and Harry thought she was looking to see if anyone else was listening in. He turned and saw Amanda and Lupin deep in conversation, and Eliza too busy trying to listen to what they were saying. He turned back to Hermione and raised an eyebrow.

"Look at this," he said, thrusting the Transfiguration book into Harry's arms.

"Hermione, if you want Harry to read this-" Ron began, annoyed that she wanted him to read a book now.

"No, no," she said hurriedly as Harry began to turn his back to her. "Look at this,"

Harry took the book and Ron looked at it over his shoulder. "What's the big-" he started, but he left the sentence hanging in mid-air, as he let out a loud gasp, for in the margin of the book, was an elaborately drawn 'S' and 'R' linked together. Below it were the words: Sirius and Rosina forever. Around it were small hearts with the initials SB and RB.

"What do you think?" he asked Hermione urgently.

"Why don't we ask Lupin about it?" Ron whispered.

Harry nodded and led the way towards the table around which Amanda, Lupin and Eliza were seated.

Careful to maintain a light-hearted tone, Harry thrust the book at Lupin. "What's this?"

"What's what?" asked Amanda, as she leaned forward in her seat to take a look at the book. Harry surveyed Lupin closely and noticed that a frown had creased on his forehead.

"Well?" Harry prodded. He saw Lupin and Amanda exchange a glance, before Amanda spoke.

"It's simple isn't it?" She gave a short laugh. "Rosina was in love with Sirius." She adapted a light-hearted tone that did not quite convince Harry.

"How did this book end up here?" Hermione asked.

"Rosina left all her possessions with me," she said simply.

"Why?" Ron pressed.

"Because she was my friend," Amanda added, a note of annoyance in her voice that plainly suggested that they should think twice before continuing. However, he decided that he needed the information more than anything else. So, he continued.

"But still, why would she leave her things with you? Did she know she was going to be killed?"

"Enough." She stood up from her seat. Harry seemed to have crossed some unseen limit. "Rosina hasn't got anything to do with what concerns you. Just forget about her."

Unnerved, Harry did not say anything else nor did anybody else. To break the silence, Lupin spoke.

"Harry," he called, "how did your Apparation go?"

"It was OK," said Harry, "at least, I managed to pass it the first time."

"So, almost everything's ready for you to begin," said Lupin.

Harry stared at him before he understood his words. Of course, how could he have forgotten? Lupin was talking about the Horcruxes. But there was a lot going on, that Harry hadn't spared a thought on the Horcruxes. But now that he mentioned it, Harry felt as though something had gripped him from inside.

"Harry," said Amanda, "you also need to be trained in Defence. Not that you need it," she gave a short laugh. "But it's important."

"Ah," groaned Ron, one evening. He was sprawled on his bed, massaging his fingers. "We didn't study like this even for the O.W.L.s. And I'm aching all over," he complained.

Hermione turned to face Ron from near the window. "Didn't you hear Mrs. Rosenay, Ron? It's important."

"You just like her because she likes to make us work," Ron bit back.

"And for what do you think she's doing that? What is it to her if we learn defence or not? You're very ungrateful, Ron," Hermione hissed.

Harry felt it was time he stepped in. "Please, don't start again. We've got enough to worry about even without you fighting."

An uneasy silence fell.

"Well, I'm off to the Library," Hermione spoke after awhile.

"You ever spend time somewhere that doesn't have books?" Ron asked, and then shook his head.

"I'm not the one who spends their life at the Library," Hermione fired back.

"You're joking, right?" Harry spoke in spite of himself.

"No, if there's someone who spends more time at the Library than me, it's Eliza," Hermione said, sounding amused.

"Really?" Ron asked, "I wonder what she's doing."

"What she's doing?" Hermione sounded scandalised. "She's studying, of course! And we all need to be doing that. Now if you'll excuse me..." Hermione left the room.

And so, for the whole of next week, Harry, Ron and Hermione, learnt new spells from Amanda, sometimes joined by Eliza, who seemed to be spending a lot of time in the Library, that Harry was surprised she had not read all the books in that Library. Harry was reminded of the time when he, Ron and Hermione had spent their time preparing Harry for the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament. Apart from mealtimes, they spent almost the whole of the day practising spells. Soon, Harry had mastered a tricky spell which created a sort of a bubble around the caster that would deflect minor to moderate jinxes, which according to Amanda would grow stronger as Harry practised it. He had also improved a great deal in non-verbal spells.

"So, Harry," said Amanda, one evening, "are you ready to begin?"

"Yes," said Harry, and he did not feel as confident as he sounded.

"Where do we begin?" asked Ron, as she sat down next to Harry.

"The Gaunt House?" Harry suggested, looking at all of them. Hermione and Ron nodded in response. Harry had given the matter a great deal of thought during the previous week, and decided that the Gaunt House was as good as a place to start looking for anything that might lead him to the Horcruxes.

"Don't worry, Harry," said Hermione, "you're going to succeed."

And with that comforting thought, Harry went to bed, not willing to think about what the next day would bring.


	9. Chapter 9

When Harry woke up the next morning, it was still dark outside. An eerie silence prevailed, which was broken by an occasional hoot of an owl or the rustle of the leaves in the breeze. Harry lay still on his bed, as a wave of apprehension and excitement swept over him.

He was going to start his search on the Horcruxes today. In a few hours' time, he would be at the Gaunt House. The thought terrified him, yet he was satisfied that he was closer to achieving his goal than he had ever been. Harry sat up on his bed, contemplating, while the sky outside grew steadily brighter. When the sun had fully risen, he dressed up, careful not to make any noise so that Ron would not wake up. He went to down to the kitchen, and saw Amanda reading the i Daily Prophet /i with her spoon stationary in mid air. She was clad in an emerald green robe, and close by Harry saw that her eyes were puffed up.

"Ah, Harry," she greeted, giving him a strained smile, which he half-heartedly returned. She drew out her wand to conjure his breakfast. "I didn't expect you to be up so early."

Harry shifted in his seat, unable to explain the uneasy feeling in his stomach. She waved her wand and a plate of bacon and eggs appeared on a plate in front of him.

"Don't worry, Harry," she said, as though she had read his thoughts. "You'll be fine," she added from behind the newspaper.

Harry did not reply, but continued to chew his breakfast which continually became equivalent to chewing leather. When he was about to give it as a bad job, the kitchen door was thrown open, and Eliza wearing robes of purple, walked in.

"Morning, Mum," she said in a cheery voice. "Hello, Harry," she added, nodding at him. "The Prophet says anything interesting?" she asked, as her mother drew out her wand again and conjured Eliza's breakfast.

"Nope," answered her mother, now waving her wand and three crystal goblets full of pumpkin juice appeared. "Just a couple of deaths," she shrugged. She put down the newspaper, and now Eliza picked it up and disappeared behind it. Hermione and Ron came down to breakfast, as Harry was finishing his breakfast. Amanda hurried forwards to conjure their breakfasts.

"Mum," Eliza frowned, reappearing behind the paper to look around the table. "Where's Uncle Remus?" She looked at the door as though expecting Lupin to barge in any moment.

"He's gone underground," Amanda said darkly. "Work for the Order."

Eliza frowned but did not reply as she gobbled up her breakfast. After Hermione and Ron had finished their breakfasts, Amanda stood up. Harry thought he might be sick, but he, Ron and Hermione followed suit.

"Are you ready, Harry?" asked Amanda, who vanished the plates and goblets with one flick of her wand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, not exactly sure why he kept saying this.

"How do we go to the Gaunt's house?" Ron asked, looking at Harry.

"Well," said Amanda thoughtfully, glancing at the wall, "Harry and I have already seen the place, so we can Apparate, but as for you two," -she looked at Ron and Hermione- "I guess I'd have to guide you to the place."

Harry looked up at her. "When did you see the place?"

A tiny frown had creased her forehead, and Harry wondered if she would answer. Finally she met his glance and gave him a smile. "Oh, the Gaunt's house isn't exactly a secret place, is it?" she replied evasively, her eyes twinkling.

Though she did not give any sign of not wanting to discuss further, Harry did not press the matter.

"So, shall we get started?" Hermione asked.

"Right," said Amanda, "Hermione, Ron, hold my hand." She extended her right arm to both of them, and they grasped her hand nervously. "Harry, picture the Gaunt house exactly as it was the previous time." Harry suddenly had a vivid image of the house in half-ruins, overgrown with weeds, the floor thick with dust collected over the years. And he stepped forward into that feeling of horrible compression. As quickly as it had begun that feeling ended, and Harry looked around to see Ron and Hermione eye the place nervously. Harry felt uneasy as he saw the chair in which Morfin Gaunt had sat ages ago, and the kitchen in which Merope had broken a pot. The place had not changed much, granted there would have been more dust gathered with the passage of time, but the place was already very dirty that it did not seem to matter much.

"Blimey," Ron cast a disgusted look at the amount of filth that had gathered on the floor. "If there's any place that needs cleaning, it's this one."

"Well," Amanda gave the room a look of deepest loathing. "Why don't we begin?"

"But," Hermione interrupted, with an air of explaining the obvious. "Where do we begin?"

"Dunno," said Ron, as he glanced at the room. "There's nothing much in here, is it?"

Harry, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "I guess we'll just have to look for any object that could be a Horcrux like something shiny or a thing to which Voldemort would have been attached to. I can identify the cup, and the locket, so if you find anything like that, don't touch it, but show me to it, OK?"

Hermione and Ron nodded and Hermione walked away to investigate in the kitchen while Ron moved towards the end to the hall. Amanda went off to the back of the house. Harry decided to get started, and walked towards a mouldy chest of drawers. He opened the lock with a quick Alohomora charm and as the doors sprang open, Harry coughed, as he inhaled a large amount of dust.

A quick glance inside showed him creaked and rusted mirror. Harry picked it up and peering into it, gasped loudly, for it was not Harry's green eyes that looked back at him, but the red slits of Voldemort. The face he was looking at was the subject of his recent nightmares, the face of Lord Voldemort. Instinctively, Harry raised a hand to his face, and to his amazement it did feel quite normal. He even traced his scar with a finger, and could feel its presence. Relieved, he put back the mirror into the shelf of the chest of drawers. There was nothing more in the drawers, spare a few tattered old robes.

"Harry?"

He turned around to see Ron standing, a look of excitement on his face.

"What is it?" he asked, his face lighting up.

"I think I've found something," he answered, a broad smile playing across his lips.

Harry could not believe his ears. Ron motioned him to follow, and Harry jogged along, his legs feeling slightly like lead.

"Look," He led the way right to the end of the hall, and there on a chest of drawers, stood a cup, majestic in spite of the fact that a thick layer of cobwebs hid its gleam. Harry groaned. It was not Hufflepuff's cup.

"It's not the one?" Ron asked, sounding disappointed.

Harry just shook his head. The happy bubble that had formed inside him was burst, though Harry felt slightly stupid for even believing that he could find one of the Horcruxes so easily. After all, it had taken Dumbledore almost a year to locate one.

"Well, I'm sorry," came Ron's voice.

"Don't be," he answered vaguely. He then walked back to the hall, leaving a thoroughly dejected Ron behind.

After he had finished with the drawers, he moved onto the moth-eaten cupboards. He occasionally tried the i Specialis Revelio /i spell, but there was nothing whatsoever. Soon, having checked every inch of the floor and the wall in the hall, he went off to see the others hoping they had had better luck than him. He entered the kitchen. Hermione was standing next to the sink with her brow furrowed, a look of intense concentration on her face.

"Harry." She looked up to spare him a smile, before turning her back on him.

"Any luck?" He did not even bother to cross his fingers inside the pockets of his jeans.

She just shook her head, looking crestfallen. "I don't think there's anything in here, though," she muttered, and pursed her lips. When Harry continued to look at her, she said, "I highly doubt Voldemort would have left a Horcrux i here, /i I mean, Dumbledore already found the ring here, and it's not possible that he would have left another one here, is it?"

Harry gave her an annoyed look. She could have told this to him before they had even decided on the place, saving them time.

As though she had read his mind, she said, looking at him in the eye, "Harry, look, it just occurred to me right now."

Though this did not make him less angry towards Hermione, he did not reply. He just walked out. Behind him, he heard Hermione heave a sigh.

"Harry?"

Harry turned, and saw Amanda standing on the doorway, a gold-embroidered diary in her hand. She was grinning, which was the last thing that he, Harry, felt like doing.

"Look at this," she said, indicating a note that was grasped in her palms. Harry hurried forwards, and Hermione and Ron soon joined them. Harry began to read, and felt his heart skip a few beats. The note was seemed to be scribbled in a great hurry; the handwriting cramped. i 

To the Dark Lord,

The task that was set has been successfully completed. R.A.B exists as a mere memory.

S.T.S /i 

"Blimey," gasped Ron. Hermione groaned. However, Amanda continued to grin.

"Not another one," Harry said, looking at Amanda, whose grin quickly faded off to be replaced by a puzzled look.

"What do you mean, another one?" she asked, arching her eyebrows, and chewing on her lips.

Harry slapped his forehead. "Oh, I forgot to tell everybody about the R.A.B. note."

"R.A.B?" A look of panic crossed Amanda's forehead for the briefest second as Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.

"Um, yeah, when -er- Dumbledore"- the name still caused him enough agony to constrict his speech - "and I went to that lake, we didn't find the Horcrux, but there was this note left that was addressed to Voldemort. It went on about how this R.A.B managed to find the real Horcrux..."

"And," added Hermione, "it also said that 'he faces death in the hope that Voldemort might find his match once more.'"

Amanda began to pace the floor. She ran a hand through her hair muttering, "Interesting."

"Any guesses as to who R.A.B is?" she asked, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"None," said Ron, as they hung their heads. "Hermione even looked through the books in the library to figure out who R.A.B. is, but no luck."

"And what about this S.T.S?" she added.

"No clue," Harry rubbed his chin, as he thought hard.

"Somehow, I think these notes are connected to each other," Hermione face shone as she spoke.

Amanda stopped pacing the floor. "Really? What makes you think that?"

"Well," Hermione leaned forwards, her eyes dancing with glee. "For starters, both the notes were addressed to the 'Dark Lord' and both involve this R.A.B."

"That's keen observation, Hermione," Amanda clapped Hermione on the back.

A Falcon Patronus fluttered into the room and Amanda walked forward to receive it. She had her back to them for a whole minute and when she turned back to face them, Harry saw a silvery four-legged creature shoot out from her wand. Her face was flushed, and she knitted her hands together.

"I've received a message," she said briefly. "You need to go to the Grimmauld Place immediately, Harry."

"Why?"

Amanda cast him an annoyed look. "You need to sign some papers regarding the ownership of the house."

"I thought Sirius had finished everything for Harry," Hermione looked confused.

Amanda answered, "But because Harry has come of age, legally, he's the owner of the house only now."

"Well, let's go then," said Ron, glancing at Amanda.

"We can't go right away." Amanda's eyebrows were furrowed as she did some quick thinking. "There's a Ministry official present, and it looks like they've been sent by Scrimgeour, who would want to find out about where you're staying."

"Wait a minute." Ron said. "How will the Ministry official be able to see Grimmauld Place?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that the Fidelius Charm Dumbledore placed on the house is slightly wearing off."

Ron frowned. "I don't get it."

"Only certain parts of the house are under the Fidelius Charm. I'm not sure how it works, but the Ministry would be able to see a few rooms of the house. But that's not what matters right now. There are Ministry officials at Grimmauld Place and they would want to know about where you had been."

"We could say we were at the Burrow," Hermione offered.

Amanda smiled ruefully. "No use. They've already visited The Burrow."

"What about Hermione's house?" Harry asked.

Amanda smiled again. "They've checked everywhere." Silence fell for a few minutes and suddenly Amanda's face brightened. She smacked herself on the forehead. "How could I have been so stupid? Anyway, here's the plan. We were going on a holiday to Belgium to see Viktor Krum, but since we received the message, we're heading back."

Harry was surprised. "How do you know about Krum?"

Amanda's eyes twinkled. "He's a great Seeker, you know."

"But how did you know we knew him?" Harry asked, unsatisfied.

Amanda grinned. "Later, Harry." As she spoke, she waved her wand and four backpacks appeared. "Take one each, and stick to the story, all of you. On the count of three, then: One, two, three."

Harry shut his eyes and stepped forward to the feeling of compression, and after a few minutes, he Apparated in Grimmauld Place. He still had his eyes closed. He did not want to be in the place that held such memories for him. Memories that he did not want to visit. Wounds that would begin to bleed anytime.

"Hem, hem." Harry's eyes sprang open. The toady face of Umbridge was the first thing he saw. She wearing her fluffy pink cardigan and a sickly-sweet smile that Harry did not like at all. A burly wizard in black robes stood next to her, looking ready to do his bidding. "It's my pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter," she gushed in a high-pitched voice. She sat down in the armchair and crossed her legs, fixing Harry with a piercing stare.

Harry grimaced and avoided her eyes. To avoid looking at her, he looked around at the room. It was the room where the heads of house-elves were showcased. The curtains had been drawn on the windows, so the only light was from the candles, giving the room a gloomy atmosphere.

"Hem, hem," she coughed. "Now, if you can sign these papers, I'll be off."

Eager to get rid of her, he held out his hand for the papers. "Not so soon," she smiled.

"I want to know where you were, Mr. Potter." Her eyes gleamed in triumph as though she had just been appointed the Minister of Magic.

"That's none of your business," he snapped. He could hear Hermione gasp from behind him but he could not care less.

"Harry, no!" Amanda began, giving Umbridge an apologetic grin. "Don't be rude to Madam Umbridge, Harry," she admonished.

Harry looked from Amanda to Umbridge and back again. "Well, in that case, Amanda, maybe i you /i can tell me where they" -she cast an accusing finger in Harry's direction- "went."

"Of course, of course, Madam Umbridge." Amanda grinned at her. "You know the Bulgarian Seeker, Viktor Krum?" She nodded eagerly. "Of course you do. Who wouldn't know him? What a great player he is. He flies like-"

"Get on quick," she interrupted.

"Oh yeah, where was I? Yes, Krum invited Miss Granger here" –she indicated to Hermione- "for a holiday. See," -she pointed to the backpacks on the floor- "we were all packed and if I hadn't received the message from the Weasleys, we would have very well been in Belgium by now."

The burly wizard spoke, his voice raspy. "I thought only Miss Granger was going on a holiday?" Umbridge clapped her hands together, her head swaying between the wizard and Amanda.

Amanda gave the wizard a winning smile and Harry thought the wizard's pale cheeks reddened. "Oh, come now, Harold, d'you think Miss Granger would go on a holiday without her friends? I've never seen people as close as those three are." Apparently satisfied, Harold did not speak.

Umbridge stood up and began to pace the floor. "And what were you doing with them?" Umbridge asked suddenly, giving Amanda one of her trademark sickly sweet smiles.

Amanda smiled, matching Umbridge's own. "Oh, Molly asked me to look after Ron and Harry. You know how she is." The wizard called Harold rolled his eyes. "Now, can we proceed to signing the papers?"

"Sure, sure," said Harold, as he bustled forward with a heavy looking book. He waved his wand and ink and quills appeared. "Mr. Potter, when were you born?" He took one of the quills and filled it with ink.

"July 31, 1980." As he spoke, the wizard noted it down. "And your full name is Harry James Potter, correct?" Harry nodded. "Okay, I need your wand."

Though a little hesitant, Harry dug into his pockets for his wand. He took it out and handed it to the wizard. The wizard waved his own wand and the set of brass scales used at the Ministry of Magic appeared. He dropped Harry's wand into it and a note appeared. He attached the note to the parchment. "Phoenix wand core, holly wand, correct?"

Harry nodded and the wizard returned his wand. "Okay, Mr. Potter, I hereby declare you the righteous owner of Grimmauld Place."

Amanda bustled forward. "Would you like some toast before you leave, Madam Umbridge?"

"No, thank you, dear," she gushed. "Well, goodbye, Mr. Potter."

Harry scowled in response. Umbridge and Harold left and Amanda went to see them to the door. He turned to face Ron who was leaning against the wall, and Hermione who stood nearby. He forced himself not to look at the room, he could even remember exactly where Sirius had sat when Mr. Weasley had been attacked, and now that seat was vacant, covered with dust. He was so indulged in his thoughts, that he did not see Amanda return to the room. Ron and Hermione did, however.

"So, can we leave?" Ron asked immediately, looking around the room in disgust.

Amanda shook her head. "I'm afraid you can't."

This response brought Harry back to the world. "Why not?"

"Because i Madam Umbridge /i ," Amanda said, loathing evident on her face, "wants us to stay."

"She can't order me around," Harry shot back.

Amanda smiled, a look of pity in her eyes. "Harry," she said gently, "She obviously wanted us or rather you to stay here because she didn't want us proceeding with whatever we were doing. And she just made up the Law that we need to stay here for the document to be finalised. We might need to stay here for at least ten days."

Harry didn't speak, but only stared at the chair in front of him. He did not know how many more memories of Sirius he had to relive with until he left the house, once and for all.


End file.
